Immersive Virtual Reality Experience for Informed Career Decisionmaking

Abstract

Tecnológico de Monterrey's Tec21 framework structures student development through Exploration, Focus, and Specialization phases, supported by a triad of peer mentors, program directors, and student mentors. Despite this robust design, two decision points, leaving the Exploration phase and selecting a specialization, emerge as peaks of stress and anxiety, driven by fears of irreversible mistakes, financial uncertainty, and external pressures. A mixed-methods survey of 78 sixth-semester students revealed that while most report low stress when choosing a university or major, a significant minority experiences moderate to severe anxiety. Open responses highlighted concerns about costly tuition, heavy course loads, confusing curricular options, and worry over disappointing family or peers. Traditional interventions, detailed program overviews, mindfulness exercises, and proactive advising, provide some relief but may not fully engage Generation Z learners, who gravitate toward immediate, immersive experiences. Simultaneously, Tec's Mostla innovation hub has established VR Zones on twenty campuses, each equipped with HTC Vive Pro stations and a proven track record of five thousand visits within the first ten months. Yet, existing VR applications do not address the specific decision-making challenges faced by students. Anchored by the university's 2030 vision, "education not just for work but for life, and continuously", and its credo of "leadership, innovation, and entrepreneurship for human flourishing," a tailored VR prototype offers a compelling solution. By recreating campus tours, career pathways, and specialization scenarios in a controlled virtual environment, students can test outcomes without real-world stakes. This experiential rehearsal bridges information gaps, alleviates financial and logistical anxieties, and builds emotional resilience and self-efficacy, core components of human flourishing. Discussion of survey findings alongside VR's proven capacity for social-emotional learning suggests that immersive simulations can transform high-pressure academic choices into guided explorations. Students who feared choosing the wrong discipline or losing scholarships could, for instance, virtually navigate financial aid processes or "walk through" a corporate project before committing. By aligning Tec21's phased curriculum and well-being dimensions with interactive VR modules, the university can deliver decision-making workshops and in-simulation prompts that reinforce confidence at those pivotal junctures. In conclusion, implementing bespoke VR experiences, grounded in Tec21 pedagogy and deployed through Mostla's infrastructure, promises to convert moments of acute anxiety into opportunities for growth. Such an approach not only prepares students for professional success but also nurtures their capacity for continuous learning and balanced living, satisfying Tecnológico de Monterrey's aspiration to cultivate resilient individuals ready for the challenges of an ever-changing world.