VR Education signs licence agreement with Japan education firm

(Sharecast News) - Virtual reality (VR) technology company VR Education has signed a multi-year enterprise licence agreement with Tokyo Global Gateway (TGG) for use of its proprietary 'Engage' platform, effective 1 September, it announced on Thursday.
The AIM-traded firm said the agreement comprised an initial one-off fee for custom work, alongside annual software licence fees.

It described TGG as a "large-scale experience-oriented English-education facility", managed and operated by a consortium of five private-sector entities appointed by the Tokyo Metropolitan Board of Education.

A majority shareholder is Gakken Holdings - an educational service and content provider in Japan, whose aims are to contribute to educational reform in Japan via "innovative solutions".

VR Education described its Engage platform as an education, training and communications tool used by educators and enterprise clients to provide remote training, distance learning, and as a platform to provide virtual events.

The agreement would see TGG use the platform to teach Japanese students and corporate clients the English language in "everyday travel situations", such as arriving at an airport, checking into a hotel or ordering food at a restaurant.

It said the use of VR in a series of set locations, designed to simulate scenarios during a foreign trip, would provide students with "familiar surroundings" as they learned how to speak English fluently.

The use of the Engage platform would enable TGG to expand its existing facilities digitally, and provide more complex locations and situations "with relative ease".

Learning design consultancy Global Sky Education would support TGG, by taking a role in VR learning development and the execution of the project.

"Tokyo Global Gateway is a leading educational institute in Japan, which has one of the world's best-educated populations with 100% enrolment in compulsory grades and zero illiteracy," said chief executive officer David Whelan.

"We're delighted to be further strengthening our reach in Asia by working with this prestigious institution backed by the Tokyo Metropolitan Board of Education.

"In light of the Covid-19 crisis and growing pressures on education systems across the globe, this multi-year enterprise agreement, which has been secured in line with management expectations, shows the strong and growing demand for Engage's unique offering in the education, technology and XR space."

At 0917 BST, shares in VR Education were up 1.59% at 16p.