Meet Elmir
Elmir Insapov is a PhD student in Digital Media at the University of Porto and an award-winning instructional designer working at the intersection of immersive learning, virtual reality, and research-driven design. As part of his doctoral work, Elmir develops and studies VR experiences that explore how teams collaborate under pressure, especially in corporate and professional training contexts.
Rather than treating VR as a novelty, Elmir approaches immersive technology as a serious learning tool. His work focuses on how people communicate, make decisions, and build trust when the stakes feel real.
[In the team-building VR experience] You will feel a little bit stressed out. And this is what we want!
From Research Constraints to Creative Leverage
Like many doctoral researchers, Elmir faced a familiar tension. His work demanded methodological rigor and deep analysis, but building a high-quality VR experience from scratch required time, technical expertise, and constant iteration.
He had already completed Unity courses and built a foundational understanding of development. Still, the reality of balancing research priorities with production demands became clear.
"At one point, I just realized that it would be impossible for me to develop something decent by myself and at the same time to do research properly."
That realization led him to rethink how immersive experiences could be built within academic and corporate research timelines. Instead of scaling back his vision, he looked for tools that would let him focus on learning outcomes, experimentation, and analysis
Oxygen Crisis: A VR Experience Built for Teams
Oxygen Crisis is a multiplayer virtual reality experience designed to strengthen team cohesion in corporate settings. Participants enter a high-pressure scenario where collaboration is not optional. It is the only way to succeed.
The setting is cinematic but purposeful. Teams find themselves aboard a spaceship as oxygen levels begin to drop. Stress builds quickly, roles must be assigned, and communication becomes critical.
The experience is not about winning fast. It is about observing how people behave when urgency, ambiguity, and responsibility collide.
What Participants Actually Do
The experience unfolds in stages, each designed to surface specific collaboration behaviors:
- Enter a shared VR environment under time pressure
- Identify the source of an oxygen depletion crisis
- Assign roles and coordinate actions in real time
- Navigate uncertainty while maintaining team alignment
Elmir intentionally designs moments where stress alters behavior, because that is when authentic workplace dynamics emerge.
"We know that people change their approaches when they are under pressure."
We want to empower our experience with stronger storytelling.
Storytelling as a Learning Accelerator
Rather than relying on abstract tasks, Oxygen Crisis uses narrative to deepen immersion and emotional engagement. Participants receive a futuristic message about an encrypted signal detected in space. The mystery pulls them forward, while the crisis forces immediate action.
The story is not decoration. It creates context, motivation, and memory. Learners are not told to collaborate better. They experience why collaboration matters.
Grounded in Learning Science
Oxygen Crisis is structured around Kolb’s experiential learning cycle, ensuring the VR experience connects directly to real-world application.
Participants move through four phases:
- Concrete experience inside VR, facing a challenge without preparation
- Reflection and observation in a facilitated discussion outside VR
- Theoretical conceptualization, learning structured collaboration strategies
- Active experimentation in a second, more difficult VR challenge
This structure makes the experience especially relevant for corporate training, leadership development, and team onboarding programs where reflection and transfer matter as much as engagement.
Measuring What Matters in Corporate Training
Elmir’s research focuses on three core collaboration variables that are critical in modern organizations:
- Effective communication in high-pressure environments
- Shared goals and clear role assignments
- Trust and interpersonal bonds
These variables are not measured through surveys alone. They are observed through behavior inside immersive scenarios that feel urgent and consequential.
For Elmir, VR’s strength lies in its ability to simulate complexity without real-world risk. Teams can fail safely, reflect honestly, and then try again with new strategies. The second challenge in Oxygen Crisis is intentionally harder, requiring teams to apply what they learned during reflection.This iterative design mirrors real workplace growth and makes immersive learning especially powerful for corporate environments.
Build What Matters
Elmir Insapov’s work demonstrates how immersive learning can move beyond demos and into evidence-based practice. His research-driven approach shows what is possible when storytelling, learning science, and accessible VR creation tools come together.
For organizations exploring virtual reality for corporate training, team development, or leadership growth, Oxygen Crisis offers a glimpse of what immersive learning can become when it is designed with intention.
If you are an instructional designer, researcher, or learning leader curious about using virtual reality without sacrificing rigor or accessibility, Zoe can help you focus on outcomes instead of obstacles
Download Zoe to begin building your own VR lessons, or join the Zoe Creator Program to learn alongside educators who are shaping the future of learning through creativity and exploration.
