Virtual Campus is a development, training and consulting SME in the areas of Technology Enhanced Learning, Serious Games and Information Systems. Its vision is to actively promote the development of the Knowledge Society by supporting public and private entities in designing and developing strategies and projects that lead to increased societal benefits, always through the use of digital environments for Education and Training. Located in Porto, North of Portugal, Virtual Campus has strong partnerships with various Universities and Companies in the region and has successfully partnered with Local and Regional Authorities, enterprise associations and specialized companies. In fact, Virtual Campus is a spin-off from the research and work developed at the R&D group GILT, from the Instituto Superior de Engenharia do Porto. Virtual Campus staff forms a multidisciplinary team with academic backgrounds in different areas, allying knowledge and skills from International Relations, Programming, and Design.
Virtual Campus has successfully produced multimedia e-learning content for different platforms (mobile, web, desktop/laptop), in different environments (online, standalone) for various purposes (vocational training, emergency services, higher education, secondary education) and in different scopes (R&D&I projects, client contracts). In this context, VC has developed a wide range of products, which essentially fall into four categories: games, learning apps, learning content and web platforms. In the first and second categories, VC has launched several games and learning and training apps for distinct target groups, such as LOEL (for Emotional Intelligence in Teenagers), Transform@ (entrepreneurship skill development), Examinator (Secondary Education Students), Geoquizz (all ages), Chemdrops (Secondary Education Students), Globall Manager (a game for SME managers and higher education students), eCity (a game for engineering students), UISEL (game for developing the digital literacy of senior citizens), and PARENTNETS (game for parents on preventing risks on social networks and internet). VC is also one of the leaders of SEGAN, the Serious Game Network, a European group of practitioners and experts in Serious Games. Another of Virtual Campus’s main fields of action is the development of educational content and platforms. As an example, one can mention that the company has extensive experience in terms of the design and creation of MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses). VC (through Carlos Vaz de Carvalho) has led the production of the MOOC on Serious Games Design and Development that reached 13.000 students.
VC produces MOOCs for different fields, such as leather, footwear and furnishing industries, health and active life, and different educational levels and contexts, therefore reaching a wide range of target groups, namely managers, professionals, formal and informal caregivers, adult and VET learners and educators, high school and higher education students and teachers, within other stakeholders. In total, Virtual Campus has participated in the development of more than 10 MOOCs, which counted with the participation of more than 2.500 students, and is currently involved in the creation of several other courses. Virtual Campus has also developed other educational platforms, such as ADLES, aiming at promoting the use of Active Learning especially PBL), and PeerCare, a project targeting informal caregivers. Currently, the company is developing DeSTRESS, a vocational and professional training platform, relying on gamification to raise awareness about and mitigate the dangers of workplace stress.