In this follow-up case study, Biomedical Sciences students Lin Mingwan and Yiran Wang, in collaboration with Sharmila Rajendran from the Department of Physiology, Anatomy and Genetics (DPAG), share their ongoing work to integrate virtual reality (VR) into anatomy teaching for first-year Biomedical Sciences students.
Building on their 2023-24 pilot study, the team expanded VR integration from two to four anatomical systems—cardiovascular, respiratory, gastrointestinal, and renal for the 2024-25 cohort—and supported its inclusion in the Year 1 curriculum from 2025-26.
Who was involved in your partnership work, and how did everyone become involved?
Building on the success of the 2023–24 pilot project, Biomedical Sciences students Lin Mingwan and Yiran Wang, together with DPAG staff member Sharmila Rajendran (Departmental Lecturer in Anatomy), continued the collaborative work to further integrate virtual reality (VR) into the teaching of Anatomy for Year 1 Biomedical Sciences students at the University of Oxford.
Following the initial phase co-led by Lin Mingwan and Sharmila Rajendran, which trialled VR for the Cardiovascular and Respiratory Systems, the team reconvened in late 2024 to plan an expanded study. This new phase aimed to enhance the design of VR sessions, to collect a larger data set from the Year 1 BMS 2024-25 cohort, and to evaluate VR-based anatomy learning across four major systems: Cardiovascular, Respiratory, Gastrointestinal, and Renal.
What did you set out to achieve in your student-staff partnership work?
The 2025 follow-up study sought to build on the findings from the previous year by:
- Extending VR integration beyond two systems to four
- Improving VR design to enhance anatomy learning experience and outcome
- Gathering a larger and more representative data sample
- Assessing the sustained educational value and scalability of VR as a standard teaching tool in anatomy practicals.
Together, Lin Mingwan, Yiran Wang, and Sharmila Rajendran refined the existing study design, updated the survey instruments, and incorporated feedback from the 2023-24 cohort. The intention was not only to evaluate learning outcomes and student engagement, but also to examine longitudinal attitudes toward VR-based anatomy learning as it became a more familiar part of the curriculum.
When and where did your case study take place?
Preparatory meetings took place at the Department of Physiology, Anatomy and Genetics (DPAG) during the summer vacation of 2024, followed by coordination sessions on Microsoft Teams. The data collection phase occurred during Hilary and Trinity terms 2025, when the new Year 1 Biomedical Sciences students undertook VR-enhanced dissection room (DR) practicals across the four anatomy systems.
What did you learn from working in partnership?
This second phase reinforced the value of continuity and iterative improvement in educational innovation. Having conducted an earlier pilot, Mingwan and Sharmila recognised the importance of scaling responsibly — maintaining rigour while adapting to feedback. Yiran’s inclusion brought fresh perspective from the incoming cohort, enhancing the study’s relevance and relatability.
Students are able to provide insights from personal experiences of the course, while staff could make use of such perspectives to enhance teaching, highlighting the values of student-staff partnership. The process demonstrated that student-staff partnerships can evolve beyond pilots into sustainable academic change, when mutual respect, data-driven evaluation, and shared vision are maintained.
The expanded study produced richer data demonstrating that VR can significantly improve engagement and comprehension in anatomy learning, particularly for spatially complex systems such as the renal and gastrointestinal tracts.
In recognition of this work:
- The findings from the cumulative output demonstrated the value of integrating VR for all practicals in future BMS cohorts
- The team also presented their findings at the Anatomical Society Winter Meeting 2025 (Chelmsford, UK) and the Varsity Life Science Conference 2026 (Cambridge, UK), highlighting Oxford’s innovative approach to VR-based biomedical education.
This marks an important progression from pilot to policy, showing how a student-initiated project can evolve into sustained curricular transformation.
What advice would you give to other students and staff who may wish to take a similar student-staff partnership approach?
For both students and staff, we would advise the following:
- Build continuity: Sustained success often comes from iterative follow-up rather than one-off projects
- Empower student leadership: Students play a central role in educational innovation, offering fresh insights that resonate with their peers
- Keep reflection central: Each phase should inform the next, ensuring that the partnership evolves with the learners and the teaching context.
