Exploring engineering students’ perceptions of immersive learning: A mixed-methods post-seminar study

This study investigates engineering students’ perceptions of immersive learning technologies following a structured hands-on seminar that introduced CAVE-based simulations, collaborative 3D environments, and digital-twin scenarios. Grounded in constructs aligned with technology acceptance and experiential learning frameworks, the study employs a mixed-methods design combining descriptive statistics, correlation analysis, and thematic coding of open-ended responses.

Ninety-nine undergraduate engineering students completed a post-seminar survey assessing perceived usefulness, conceptual understanding, motivation, career relevance, hybrid-learning preference, and distraction. Results show high ratings for conceptual understanding and perceived usefulness, with strong correlations between career relevance, hybrid-learning preference, and perceived utility. Qualitative insights emphasise interactivity and visualisation as key pedagogical strengths, while highlighting technical constraints and equipment availability as prominent challenges.

Findings indicate that students view immersive environments as pedagogically valuable and professionally meaningful, provided that their implementation is supported by reliable infrastructure and coherent instructional design. The study contributes empirical evidence to ongoing discussions on simulation-rich and Metaverse-aligned engineering education, emphasising the need for scalable integration strategies and longitudinal evaluation.