Dutch Police Academy uses VR to match rapidly evolving learning needs and increase efficiency
Solving the challenge of the Dutch Police Academy using VR
Society is constantly changing, as the pace of social and technological developments has increased enormously in recent years. Police officers are at the center of this changing society that is placing ever greater demands on their profession. Police training is evolving in line with these developments. And it is not only society that is undergoing enormous changes. Today’s students cannot be compared to those of the past: they have a different view on work and learning. The traditional method of police training, based on one equal set of student’s needs, is no longer appropriate.
As a result, Dutch Police Academy felt the need to diversify its training offerings. At the same time, their capacity (manpower and space) is insufficient to educate 17.000 students in the coming 5-7 years using traditional methods.
Students require access to educational tools that match the way they learn most efficiently plus it needs to match training facilities. The Dutch Police Academy needs to provide these tools in order to ensure that they remain attractive and relevant. These tools also play an important role in personal development, something that goes well beyond preparing students for today’s challenges.
RE-liON's Solution
The impact of VR
VR is giving the Academy the flexibility back it needs: students themselves plan what, when and where to learn. The Academy facilitates content and devices: it has 8 locations throughout The Netherlands and +/- 300 VR devices distributed over these locations.
The Dutch National Police considers the Academy as a proving grounds. Plans are well underway to expand the concept into the training domain.
