Our Work / Research & Evidence

Mater Immersive Learning Pilot

Mater Education's own program evaluation of "Speaking with Good Judgement: Through the Looking Glass," the VR training PTR built for its psychologically safe conversations program.

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A nurse sits beside the Start Speaking prompt.
Mater Education

What was built

"Speaking with Good Judgement: Through the Looking Glass" was co-designed with Mater Education, the SWGJ team leads, and the Centre for Medical Simulation at Harvard, with custom branding, characters and environments.

It places participants in familiar Mater rooms recreated in VR. Guided by a narrator, they observe animated characters navigate difficult feedback situations, then make branching choices and see the consequences play out.

Backed by Advance Queensland

Advance Queensland, the Queensland Government's innovation program, part-funded the pilot alongside Mater Education, then delivery reached staff across Mater's network.

A charge nurse briefs two nurses, the kind of shift the pilot's face-to-face rollout reached.
A charge nurse briefs the team.

$40,000 from Advance Queensland, $110,000 from Mater

Advance Queensland awarded PTR $40,000 toward the project; Mater Education contributed a further $110,000 through its partnership with Advance Queensland's Corporate Innovation Network.

Following the pilot, it was delivered face to face to more than 60 staff across Mater's Brisbane and regional campuses, alongside a workshop that trained Mater's own facilitators so the program could continue in-house.

The rooms staff practised in

Break areas, wards and bedsides, recreated so staff could rehearse the conversation before having it for real.

A nurse sits alone with a mug in the tea room, the kind of break-room moment the training recreated.
A break room, recreated for the training.
Two nurses discuss a ward handover, a clipboard between them.
A ward handover, clipboard in hand.
A consultant updates a family member in a hospital corridor.
Updating a family in the corridor.
A pharmacy conversation, one of the recreated Mater settings.
A pharmacy counter, recreated for the training.
A rehabilitation gym session, one of the recreated Mater settings.
A rehab session, recreated for the training.
A GP leans forward to welcome a patient.
A GP welcomes a patient.
"As organizations tighten budgets and adapt to remote workforces, VR offers scalability, efficiency, and deep behavioural impact. Beyond training technical skills, it enables leadership, resilience, de-escalation techniques, and inclusive decision-making, all essential for thriving in today's workplace."

Simon Lowe, PTR's CEO.Simon Lowe
CEO, People Tech Revolution. Forbes, 13 June 2025

What Mater Education reported

Mater Education's own program evaluation of the pilot found these figures.

A postnatal check-in conversation, one of the recreated Mater settings.
A postnatal check-in, recreated for the training.
93%

enjoyed the experience

90%

reported an increase in their concentration

77%

found the VR scenarios more engaging than face-to-face delivery

96%

wanted more VR training in future programs

Staff also reported increased confidence applying SWGJ concepts, per Mater's own evaluation.Mater Education, immersive learning pilot closure report, 2025

Mater, in its own words

Sean Hunter on what changed when a culture program moved into the headset.

Why Mater Education uses VR for workplace culture training
Sean Hunter, Director of Systems Transformation at Mater and Mater Education, on moving Speaking with Good Judgement into VR.

A program that was losing its audience

Speaking with Good Judgement is Mater's own program for giving feedback and speaking up respectfully. It was rebuilt in VR so hospital staff rehearse the conversation inside the rooms they will have it in.

Sean Hunter is Director of Systems Transformation at Mater and Mater Education. This is his account, recorded for the pilot.

A session from headset to debrief

A facilitator, a scene, a choice and a group talk afterwards, delivered face to face in Mater's own education spaces. How PTR builds and runs sessions like this one is set out in the XR overview.

A parent and clinician conversation, one of the recreated Mater settings.
A paediatric conversation, recreated for the training.
An allied health conversation, one of the recreated Mater settings.
An allied-health conversation, recreated for the training.
Two nurses face each other in a ward, an information panel floating between them.
Two nurses face each other on the ward.

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Sources

Mater's own closure report, and the Queensland Government's account of the funding behind it.

A quiet hospital lounge, one of the settings the pilot recreated.

Mater Immersive Learning Pilot closure report

Mater Education, 2025

Mater Education's own closure report for Speaking with Good Judgement: Through the Looking Glass, the source of the four evaluation figures above.

A night ward round, one of the settings the pilot recreated.

People Tech Revolution's virtual reality training package for Mater Hospital

Advance Queensland, Queensland Government, last updated 10 August 2023

The innovation story behind the grant and Mater's own contribution to the pilot.

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The PRACTICE lane on PTR Labs Demos: three of its roleplay characters shown one after another in cinematic office settings, a golden-hour boardroom, a customer lounge and a dusk meeting room
PRACTICE
The PLAY lane on PTR Labs Demos: a slow moving view through three environments from the 360 Immersive Experience, a museum hall, a hospital room and a modern waterfront, animated from the experience's real 360 scenes
PLAY
The CREATE lane on PTR Labs Demos: a chibi character modelled on PTR's co-founder runs toward the camera through Scope Creep Sprint's world, leaping an office chair and a jammed printer
CREATE
The CONNECT lane: a six-person video call grid bringing a distributed organisation together, among them a woman using a wheelchair and a man dialling in from a greenhouse
CONNECT
The CONSULT lane: Simon leads an adaptive AI consultation, talking a client through a tailored recommendation shown on a tablet between them
CONSULT
The COLLABORATE lane: Leonie leads a co-design workshop at a whiteboard, mapping ideas with sticky notes while the group gathers around her
COLLABORATE
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WHAT CLIENTS SAY
Keia Hobbs, MD
PTR demonstrated a profound understanding of the intricacies of human behaviour, crucial in crafting meaningful and impactful experiences. I wholeheartedly endorse PTR and their commitment to creating impactful experiences.
Keia Hobbs, MD
Assistant Dean of Graduate Medical Education, University of Illinois Chicago
Martine McCash
Over the past six months, XRHealth Australia has worked closely with People Tech Revolution to co-design innovative immersive applications... supporting workplace mental health and recovery in the transport industry. Simon and his team have been exceptional collaborators: creative, responsive and genuinely committed to human-centred design. Their ability to understand clinical and operational needs and translate complex ideas into safe, realistic VR environments has made the partnership both productive and enjoyable. Together, we are developing practical, evidence-informed tools that build confidence, resilience and coping strategies through structured, real-world scenarios. I highly recommend People Tech Revolution as a trusted technology partner.
Martine McCash
Vice President - Services, XRHealth Australia
Sally Wagnon
From the initial concept discussions to the final execution, PTR demonstrated a commitment to guiding us through what was completely new territory. Their approach was structured and transparent and they always let us know what was achievable given the timeframe and budget.
Sally Wagnon
Senior Campaign Manager, 89 Degrees East
Nic Barry
I don't think role plays will ever cut it again in this space. Participants are able to empathise and discuss the experiences... with detail that just wouldn't be possible without actually experiencing it themselves.
Nic Barry
Digital Learning & Organisational Capability, Domain Group
Rhonda Brighton-Hall
They jump back, step away, they gasp, they try to find their voice, they ask to be included and when dismissed, they physically shrink. And when they can't do any of those things, the learning sticks and the real conversations begin.
Rhonda Brighton-Hall
CEO, MWAH - Making Work Human Again
Sean Hunter
Working with the PTR team has been great and I look forward to continuing the relationship and developing more VR training.
Sean Hunter
Director of Systems Transformation, Mater and Mater Education
Christine Mudavanhu
We work together with People Tech Revolution to codesign experiences and we are both committed to creating psychologically safe environments and workspaces.
Christine Mudavanhu
Founder and Principal Consultant, Utano Global
SWGJ Program Lead
VR will be a game changer, helping us create ongoing opportunities for deliberate and safe practice following the live workshop experience.
SWGJ Program Lead
Speaking with Good Judgement Program Lead, Mater Education
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Simon Lowe in conversation, hands raised mid-sentence in an armchair
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