Augmented and Virtual Reality Program Transforming TVET in Ecuador

Augmented and Virtual Reality Program Transforming TVET in Ecuador

Job creation is the 'North Star' of the World Bank Group's work, and Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) sits at the heart of this effort. By equipping learners with job-ready, practical skills, TVET drives productivity, broadens employment opportunities, and strengthens resilient communities.

Active Training Using Virtual Reality Program (ACTIVaR) is reimagining how Ecuador's Technical and Technological Institutes (TTIs) teach auto-mechanics by bringing mixed reality (virtual and augmented reality) labs into classrooms to deliver safe, affordable, and highly engaging hands-on practice. Funded by the Korea-World Bank Partnership Facility (KWPF), the grant equipped five TTIs-Cotopaxi, Loja, Tungurahua, Luis Arboleda Martínez, and Luis Rogelio González-with virtual labs, a competency-based curriculum, and intensive teacher training. This effort has also laid a replicable foundation for scaling innovation across Ecuador's TVET system and beyond.

The KWPF team recently had the opportunity to follow up with the grant's Task Team Leader (TTL), Diego F. Angel-Urdinola (Senior Economist, Education and Skills, Policy and Regulation team) to learn more about the grant's impact to date and what it signals for the future of skills-based learning in the region.

Q. To start, could you take us back to the beginning -What was the genesis of ACTIVaR? What specific gaps convinced you that a mixed reality lab for auto mechanics was the right solution?

A. ACTIVaR emerged from the convergence of strong global evidence and an urgent local need. Over the past decades, research has shown tremendous gains from using simulators to develop technical skills in fields such as medicine, engineering, and trades-including auto mechanics, vehicle operation, and welding-by allowing students to practice complex tasks safely, repeatedly, and at lower cost. That evidence became especially compelling during COVID-19, when hands-on TVET training was heavily disrupted and learning losses exposed the limitations of traditional delivery models. At the same time, many technical institutes faced chronic constraints with limited access to modern labs and equipment, and a persistent gap between classroom instruction and the skills employer's demand. A mixed-reality lab offered a way to address all these challenges at once-expanding access to high-quality practical training while better aligning learning with workplace needs. ACTIVaR) itself was a joint idea that originated with a Korean secondee working in the World Bank Group's Education global unit, who made the initial connections with institutions at the frontier of simulation-based technical education, including Namseoul University and Korea University of Technology (KOREATECH), helping translate proven approaches into a scalable solution for TVET systems.

Q. Through capacity building and technical assistance, it appears that the grant has laid a strong foundation for TVET in Ecuador. Can you take us through the key components and the impact on the ground?

A. Through capacity building and hands-on support, the grant assisted Ecuador's TVET system to take a concrete step toward the delivery of more modern and relevant technical training. A total of 5 public technical institutes received not just new mixed-reality labs, but also teacher training, curriculum support, and ongoing technical assistance to ensure the technology was used in classrooms. Today, about 400 students benefit from ACTIVaR's mixed reality training every year translating to better learning outcomes. An independent impact evaluation showed that students who used the mixed-reality auto-mechanics lab learned significantly more than those who followed traditional instruction, with clear improvements in their understanding of how engines work. Just as important, the evaluation found out why this happened: students were more engaged, more motivated, and more confident in their learning. The interactive and visual nature of the lab made complex concepts easier to grasp, allowed them to assemble and dissemble a car motor repeatedly and without risks of damaging the equipment, and encouraged active participation rather than passive listening. Overall, the program demonstrated that when technology is combined with strong institutional support and teacher capacity, it can meaningfully improve the quality of TVET and better prepare students for real-world jobs.

Student in Ecuador using virtual and augmented reality as part of the ACTIVaR program

Q. The Korean Knowledge Partner Institution for this grant is Namseoul University. Can you share a little bit about how this partner contributed to the successful implementation of the grant?

A. Namseoul University played a critical role in making the grant successful by contributing at every key stage-from vision to implementation. The Korean delegation visited early on to demonstrate how virtual and augmented reality work in real classrooms, which helped all partners clearly envision what was possible for TVET in Ecuador. They then worked closely with instructors from Ecuador to codesign the auto-mechanics training curriculum, including hosting an Ecuadorian professor in Korea for nearly two months to support this intensive collaboration. Namseoul University students, working alongside programmers from the World Bank Group's Global Corporate Solutions team, led the development of the ACTIVaR software. Their professors and technical experts also partnered with local faculty to integrate the ACTIVaR modules into existing course curricula and learning plans, ensuring alignment rather than parallel systems. Finally, Korean professors traveled to Ecuador's technical institutes to deliver hands-on teacher training and coaching, helping instructors shift their role toward facilitating student learning with technology. To support consistent implementation, the Korean experts produced a pedagogy manual and provided ongoing virtual follow-ups and coaching sessions to troubleshoot technical issues, refine teaching practices, and support instructors as the program rolled out.

Diego Angel-Urdinola, Senior Economist and Jimmy Vainstein, Senior Program Manager from the World Bank Group.

Q. What were the toughest implementation risks you encountered and how did you mitigate them? Where does the program stand today in Ecuador, and what are your near-term priorities for scale-up or integration into policy?

A. Toughest risks and mitigation.

One of the biggest implementation risks was that not all technical institutes are ready to adopt this type of technology. In developing countries, many institutes lack basic conditions such as reliable connectivity, ICT support capacity, and teachers with strong digital skills. In Ecuador, only about 16 out of more than 80 public technical institutes met the minimum conditions to implement ACTIVaR successfully, which is why the program was deliberately piloted in a small number of well-prepared institutions.

Another major challenge was managing the transition for teachers. Moving from traditional, instructor-centered teaching to a more student-centered, technology-supported pedagogy is not easy. This was mitigated through intensive teacher training, onsite coaching, pedagogy manuals, and continuous follow-up sessions that helped instructors gradually adapt their roles from lecturers to facilitators of learning.

Where the program stands and next steps.

Today, all five participating technical institutes continue to actively use ACTIVaR, and in some cases institutes have gone further by introducing simulators as part of their core equipment and regular teaching practices.

Beyond Ecuador, the grant has helped inform policy discussions-especially in the Caribbean-on how virtual labs can be integrated into TVET instruction. The lessons from ACTIVaR are already feeding into World Bank Group-supported operations such as the Human Capital Resilience Project and the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) Skills and Innovation Project (SKIP).

There is also growing interest from country teams in Sub-Saharan Africa, who are exploring how similar virtual labs could be introduced in areas like welding, auto-mechanics, and vehicle operation. In the near term, priorities include selective scale-up to institutions that meet readiness conditions, deeper integration of virtual labs into national TVET policies, and continued support to teachers to ensure the technology translates into better learning and job-relevant skills.