Published on
September 28, 2026
Responding effectively to discrimination requires practice, confidence, and quick thinking in high-stakes moments. Project "SpeakUp!" leverages Virtual Reality and advanced speech AI technology to provide an immersive soft skill training environment where participants learn and practice speaking up when encountering discriminatory situations. Developed in collaboration with our content partner VR Bits as editable VR Builder projects for the University of Cologne, the project features twelve specialized training scenarios. Utilizing VR Builder’s Speech AI capabilities, "SpeakUp!" creates immersive, conversational scenarios that empower users to build real-world confidence in a safe, controlled virtual space.
Soft skill training presents distinct challenges when using traditional learning formats, particularly surrounding diversity, equity, inclusion, and active anti-discrimination. In-person role-playing exercises frequently make participants feel self-conscious or uncomfortable, preventing genuine emotional and practical engagement. Meanwhile, static videos or multiple-choice e-learning modules fail to recreate the real-time pressure and verbal reflexes needed to intervene during live occurrences.
Furthermore, rigorous academic research demands training environments that captivate participants while remaining fully standardized, repeatable, and adaptable. To address these hurdles, the project team required a VR-based soft skill training system that offers natural voice interaction, psychological safety, and flexible scenario customization.
Project "SpeakUp!" combines the immersive presence of Virtual Reality with VR Builder’s AI-empowered speech capabilities to train active intervention against various forms of discrimination. Trainees step into virtual everyday scenarios in a ifictional workplace environment, where a variety of discriminatory behaviors take place. Instead of selecting predefined answers from an on-screen menu, participants must physically and verbally speak up, using their own voice to intervene, defuse, or challenge the situation.
Powered by VR Builder’s new Speech AI features, virtual characters dynamically understand, evaluate, and respond to spoken participant input. This creates an interactive voice dialogue that allows trainees to experiment with different phrasing, tone, and intervention strategies in a completely safe practice space without fear of real-world social consequences across a comprehensive library of twelve targeted scenarios.
Research on bystander intervention highlights a persistent gap between intention and action: while most people express a strong desire to stand up against discrimination, many remain silent in actual situations simply because they lack practical, rehearsed strategies. SpeakUp! addresses this gap by giving participants repeated practice in formulating and voicing their own responses.
The training is part of a research program at the University of Cologne that develops and tests the SpeakUp! approach in several preregistered randomized controlled trials with students and employees, both in the lab and in the field. The VR Builder modules were used in a controlled laboratory experiment that compares the immersive VR training with a desktop version of the same scenarios, focusing on how immersion shapes the learning experience and participants' confidence to speak up.
The approach has already been the subject of a doctoral dissertation, and results from the research program are currently being prepared for publication in a peer-reviewed journal.
To ensure both rapid content creation and long-term academic flexibility, MindPort partnered with XR development studio VR Bits. The team developed twelve individual training modules directly as editable VR Builder projects for the University of Cologne. By building upon VR Builder, these projects can be easily tailored or expanded without needing low-level programming expertise.
Integrated speech recognition and intent detection enable VR Builder’s Process Editor to trigger dynamic process steps based on what the participant says in real time. This open, modular architecture allows researchers at the University of Cologne to adjust dialogue branches, fine-tune triggers, or create new study variants quickly and reliably, providing a robust framework for long-term research.
The product's flexibility is also reflected in the hardware support. Thanks to the adoption and implementation of open standards and interfaces, the product is compatible with multiple platforms, including a wide range of VR headsets, desktop and web.
Working closely with academic institutions requires agility, technical precision, and clear communication throughout the development cycle.
"For our research at the University of Cologne, we needed VR training that engages people and also stands up in a controlled study. MindPort delivered: flexible with our many requirements, quick to respond to changes, and reliable throughout the study. I recommend them without reservation."
— Friedrich von Bechtolsheim, Research Assistant at University of Cologne
Project "SpeakUp!" demonstrates how combining VR Builder with Speech AI opens new frontiers for immersive soft skill training. By delivering open, editable, and extensible training tools, MindPort and VR Bits enabled the University of Cologne to conduct a scientifically rigorous study while empowering individuals to stand up against discrimination in everyday life. To learn more about building interactive VR soft skill simulations or integrating AI speech capabilities into your Unity applications, explore VR Builder or reach out to the MindPort team to discuss custom XR solutions and research partnerships.