A Conceptual Framework for the Safety Training of Engineering Laboratory Students in Tertiary Institutions

Ensuring the safety of students conducting laboratory activities is of paramount importance to the engineering programmes delivered at higher educational institutions (HEIs). However, the traditional methods of education have limitations in terms of costs and repeatability when addressing the safety challenges experienced by students in engineering laboratories. Meanwhile, studies have shown that immersive technologies (ImTs) can be very useful in addressing the limitations of the traditional methods of safety training and education. This study therefore proposes a conceptual framework for the development of an ImT-based safety training tool for educating students who use engineering laboratories. The proposed framework is developed based on the review of relevant literature in the domain. Furthermore, the framework describes the development of the ImT-based safety training tool with the support of a training content on the predominant safety issues within such laboratories, including the relevant hardware and software tools required for its implementation. Hence, the proposed framework aims to consolidate the awareness of engineering laboratory students on the prevalent safety issues in the laboratory and how to address them, while also providing a basis for future studies to examine its performance.