## 2 Materials and Methods
### Research Design and Validation  
The ultimate goal of this study was to assess the feasibility, advantages, and drawbacks of students presenting their work in a fully immersive virtual environment. To achieve this, each working group had to ensure that their final solutions functioned correctly within the virtual space. Figure 4 showcases various examples of solutions proposed by the students, to enhance the palletizing and strawberry packaging line processes.  
The evaluation process for this subject included an oral presentation of the adopted solution, which formed a part of the assessment. Each working group was allotted a maximum of 10 min to deliver their complete presentation. Following the presentation, the subject professors engaged in a question-and-answer session, to address any doubts or queries that arose.  
Figure 3: Weekly workload diagram.  
Figure 4: Illustrative examples of robotic systems developed by the students: (**a**) conveyor belt with a parallel robot used for pick and place; (**b**) conveyor belt with a robotic arm used for pick and place; (**c**) several conveyor belts together with several robotic arms; (**d**) small conveyor belt with a robotic arm used for pick and place; (**e**) conveyor belt and a robotic arm with a tool that allows to simultaneously pick and place up to four pieces; (**f**) conveyor belt with a SCARA robot used for pick and place.  
During the designated time, the students were advised to allocate approximately 3 min to explain their proposal within the developed metaverse. The presentations were structured to begin with a section where one or more members of the group elucidated the motivation behind their work and the problems they aimed to address. They also provided a well-reasoned account of the chosen devices and robots. In this segment of the presentation, the students utilized a projector and multimedia materials, such as PowerPoint presentations or similar software, videos, and other visual aids.  
Next, one of the group members entered the virtual world alongside one of the subject professors. The experience was broadcast to the rest of the class via streaming, due to the limited availability of VR devices. During this immersive segment, the student thoroughly explained all aspects of the adopted solution and interacted with the professor, to address any doubts or seek clarifications. Once the explanation in the virtual world concluded, both the student and the professor exited the virtual environment and continued with the rest of the presentation. This enabled further analysis of aspects like feasibility, assumptions, conclusions, and future work.  
This presentation format offered an innovative and interactive approach, allowing students to showcase their solutions within the virtual environment while ensuring the entire class could follow the demonstration. The subsequent question and answer session aided in comprehensive evaluation and fostered a deeper understanding of the students' work.  
Figure 5 displays several groups conducting presentations of their work while explaining their proposed and implemented solutions within the metaverse. It highlights the significance of teleportation functionality in such applications, as it compensates for the limited physical space available for movement in the real world environment.  
Figure 5: Illustrative examples of students presenting their work in the classroom using the metaverse: (**a**) a student is presenting his work in the metaverse while another student accesses his presentation in the metaverse; (**b**) a student is checking the presentation of another student in the metaverse; (**c**) two students present their work in the classroom, one of them using the metaverse; (**d**) two students present their work in the classroom while another student accesses their presentation in the metaverse.