Vocational Training is constantly evolving, driven by the challenges of the labour market and the advance of technologies. In this context, CIFP Usurbil has led an innovative project which, in collaboration with the other four centres of excellence in Renewable Energies – CPIFP Pirámide, IES Javier García Téllez, Institut Escola del Treball de Lleida and CIFP Pau Casesnoves – and with the support of Siemens Gamesa, has made it possible to develop a training simulator that allows the internal workings of a wind turbine to be explored.
This immersive resource represents a significant advance in the teaching of the wind energy sector, an area that is difficult to access for direct practice in real environments due to safety, location and cost issues. Thanks to VR technology, students can now familiarise themselves with these systems in a safe, visual and pedagogical way.
The origin of the initiative
The project was born out of a concern shared by the teaching team of the Higher Degree in Renewable Energies at CIFP Usurbil. For years, the centre had been exploring different applications of Virtual Reality in the classroom, valuing its potential to improve understanding of complex technical environments.
“The wind energy sector is particularly difficult to approach from a practical point of view in an educational environment”, explains Iñaki Azkue Santesteban, one of the CIFP Usurbil teachers involved in the project. “We knew that simulation could be a great ally to bring students closer to this type of infrastructure without the risks and difficulties associated with visiting a wind farm”.
Based on this need, and taking advantage of the knowledge accumulated in previous projects, the centre decided to promote the development of a specific simulator focused on wind turbines, from a technical and didactic perspective.
A collaborative project
One of the most noteworthy aspects of the project has been the collaboration established between educational and business agents. On the one hand, the educational centres have contributed their pedagogical vision, actively participating in the definition of the contents, the interactive exercises and the way in which the simulator would be integrated into the training plan.
On the other hand, Siemens Gamesa has provided real technical documentation on wind turbines. As Oihana Dorronsoro Esnal, another of the teachers at CIFP Usurbil and the person in charge of the project at the centre, comments, “the fact that Siemens Gamesa has provided official documentation and reviewed the technical content has been key to ensuring the accuracy of the simulator”.
This collaborative approach has allowed the construction of a tool that is not only technically accurate, but also coherent with the training objectives of the cycle.
A transformative tool in the classroom
The first results of the use of the simulator in the classroom are very positive, and it has become a key tool in the educational centre that has allowed students to better retain the concepts and acquire a deeper understanding of the systems they are studying, as the possibility of exploring the inside of a wind turbine, identifying its components and observing its operation in an interactive 3D environment allows a more intuitive assimilation of the contents.
In addition to technical learning, the use of the simulator has had a positive impact on motivation, as the possibility of alternating theoretical classes with immersive practical experiences brings dynamism and variety to the educational process. This motivational component reinforces the role of the simulator as a key resource in the cycle methodology.
The role of teachers in the digital age
The experience of CIFP Usurbil shows that the key to integrating technologies such as Virtual Reality in education lies not only in having the resources, but also in how they are used. In this sense, the role of teachers is essential to understand its possibilities, its limitations and its place within the training process, which is essential to use it effectively.
At the end of the day, it is not about replacing teachers, but about providing them with tools that enhance their pedagogical skills and better connect with today’s learners.
Two phases for a complete training
We are already working on a second phase of the project, focused on work manoeuvres, especially those related to safety, as one of the great challenges in this sector is that many of the critical operations cannot be practised directly in reality during the training stage. In this sense, Virtual Reality makes it possible to make up for this shortcoming, training key manoeuvres in a safe environment, without risk and with the possibility of repeating them until they are internalised.
This initiative demonstrates how collaboration between educational centres, technology companies and actors in the industrial sector can generate innovative solutions with a high educational impact.