Virtual Reality Education, Research, and Practice at the Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University Affiliated School

Through an industry–academia–research collaboration with Xi’an Jiaotong–Liverpool University (XJTLU), the Xi’an Jiaotong–Liverpool University–Affiliated School (XJTLU-AS) applied a service-design strategy to establish Suzhou’s first virtual-reality learning space for basic education. After six years of operation and iteration, the space has served more than 5,000 primary and secondary students and has developed into a Virtual Reality (VR) Teaching and Research Center that integrates education, research, and social practice. With education as the core, research as the support, and practice as the extension, the center has formed an integrated three-pillar operating model. On campus, it offers VR club courses from Grade 3 through Grade 12, aligned with art and physical-education curricula to create a stable system connecting classes, clubs, and workshops. At the university level, it continues coordinated industry–academia–research development with XJTLU and works with the XJTLU Learning Mall to promote VR/XR courses for lifelong learning. In the public sphere, it has a long-term museum–school collaboration with the Suzhou Art Museum, delivering supporting public-education programs on VR copying, visual arts, and art therapy that are implemented and presented during major exhibitions. This work provides a consistent practical and research foundation for applying VR/XR technologies to future learning spaces, and the center will continue to explore and contribute as new media and technologies emerge.