The future of counselling: VR workshop with Prof. Dr Dennis Mocigemba inspires career counsellors

Prof. Dr Dennis Mocigemba from the Mannheim University of Applied Sciences of the Federal Employment Agency (HdBA) led a workshop with 24 representatives of employment agencies from Saxony, Berlin and Brandenburg on this technical basis.

The focus was on concrete application scenarios for the use of virtual reality in the counselling context before or after the conversation with those seeking advice.
In small groups, the participants developed ideas for integrating the medium into their counselling practice and discussed opportunities, limitations and implementation options.

Prof. Dr Dennis Mocigemba opened the workshop with a keynote speech on the "Mediatisation of educational and career counselling" and provided food for thought on the role of digital media in a professional counselling context. He was accompanied by students Lea Landwehr and Tim Walter, who presented the project results and demonstrated specific usage scenarios.

Prof. Dr Peer Schmidt, Vice-President for Academic Affairs at BTU, sees strong future potential in the cooperation with the HdBA and the employment agencies:
"BTU 360° shows how universities can not only appeal to prospective students, but also contribute to the further development of professional counselling. The workshop is a good example of the transfer between science and practice in action."

The feedback from practitioners was also positive. Thomas Poppel, Team Leader of Career Counselling at the Cottbus Employment Agency, explained: "The format provided valuable impetus and new perspectives on the use of digital media in counselling. The dialogue with colleagues was just as beneficial as the experience with VR technology."

With this format, the BTU and the HdBA have made a much-noticed contribution to the further development of sustainable counselling formats. Further joint events are being planned.