CAVE@NUS and VERSE: Scaling the future of healthcare education
Effective teamwork and clear communication are paramount in healthcare. To cultivate these vital skills in future healthcare professionals, NUS has launched its innovative Classroom Automated Virtual Environment at NUS (CAVE@NUS).
Unveiled by Dr Janil Puthucheary, Senior Minister of State, Ministry of Education and Ministry of Sustainability and the Environment, on 19 June 2026, CAVE@NUS transforms how healthcare professionals learn. It enables impactful, scalable experiences for hundreds of students, fostering collaboration and communication for enhanced patient care. For instance, to address the traditionally separate training of Registered Nurses (RNs) and Enrolled Nurses (ENs), CAVE@NUS hosts collaborative programmes like the Virtual Escape Room Simulation-based Education (VERSE) initiative to better simulate real-world healthcare settings where RNs and ENs work collaboratively in delivering patient care.
A collaborative learning hub for healthcare
Spanning 2,320 square metres at the Medicine+Science Library, CAVE@NUS is a dedicated hub where virtual reality, advanced simulation and collaborative learning converge. At its core is an immersive CAVE, complemented by nine connected learning rooms. This unique setup allows students to step into realistic healthcare scenarios, experience clinical decision-making, and engage in facilitated discussions and reflections.
Its "Learning at Scale" capability is a key differentiator. Unlike immersive environments for small groups, CAVE@NUS accommodates up to 350 learners simultaneously. Adjoining learning rooms allow large cohorts to observe, participate and learn from simulated experiences, transforming immersive training into a widespread, collaborative educational experience. This ensures many future healthcare professionals could benefit from hands-on, high-fidelity simulation.
VERSE: Cultivating teamwork in nursing
The VERSE programme, a joint initiative by the Alice Lee Centre for Nursing Studies at NUS Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine (NUS Nursing), NUS Information Technology (NUS IT) and the Institute of Technical Education (ITE), illustrates CAVE@NUS' potential to strengthen teamwork and communication.
Bringing CAVE@NUS’ flexible design to life, which enables educators to continuously create and adapt training experiences, required crucial technical expertise and infrastructure from NUS IT. Their Interreality Technology Team seamlessly integrates advanced virtual reality systems and networking to create a scalable immersive learning environment.
Staff from NUS IT worked closely with educators in NUS Nursing and ITE to translate educational objectives into a multi-user virtual environment with underlying networking infrastructure and a facilitator monitoring dashboard. The system enables instructors to observe participants in real time, monitor team interactions and progression, and guide learning activities across geographically separated groups, allowing nursing students from NUS and ITE to collaborate seamlessly within the same virtual healthcare scenarios, regardless of their physical location.
Supported by the Ministry of Education’s Tertiary Education Research Fund, VERSE advances Singapore's strategic efforts to foster greater collaboration across educational institutions, creating a more integrated training ecosystem. Emphasising its impact, Professor Liaw Sok Ying, Head of NUS Nursing and Principal Investigator of VERSE, said, “What makes VERSE unique is not just the technology, but the relationships it builds. By bringing students from different educational pathways together, we help them understand each other's roles, communicate more effectively, and develop the trust needed to function as a cohesive nursing team.” This intra-professional training, which will be integrated into the Nursing curricula of NUS and ITE from 2027, will benefit 700 students annually, preparing them for seamless collaboration in clinical settings.
Students' learning experience has been enriched considerably. Tan Choon Kiat Bradley, a Year 3 NUS Nursing student, found that the virtual patient's responsiveness made the experience "much closer to actual clinical practice", enhancing his appreciation for the role of Enrolled Nurses.
Harini D/O Selvarajan, a Year 3 ITE Higher Nitec in Nursing student, shared that the headset communication made the simulation "feel much closer to a real hospital setting", giving her "more confidence to speak up and contribute as part of the team".
This positive feedback highlights how CAVE@NUS provides a safe space for nurses to hone critical communication and teamwork skills before entering the workforce.
Shaping skills for every healthcare role
With its emphasis on collaborative, reflective and scalable learning, CAVE@NUS provides educators with a powerful platform to equip students with essential clinical skills, vital teamwork and communication abilities, thereby fostering a new generation of highly competent, collaborative and adaptable healthcare professionals prepared to provide the best patient care.
