## 2 Theoretical Framework and Literature Review  
### VR Engine Room Simulators in Maritime Training and Education  
Real systems aboard ships provide a genuine experience; however, they are also extremely expensive to operate, have spatial and temporal restrictions, and pose safety risks and consequences. In the domain of Maritime Education and Training (MET), Marine Engine Room Simulators (MERSs) have been utilized for nearly thirty years for the purpose of educating and training marine engineers. Nowadays, MERSs are widely employed in maritime universities and seafarer training institutions around the world; meanwhile, the International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification, and Watchkeeping for Seafarers (STCW 78/95) also makes mandatory requirements for training marine engineers by using an MERS, which presents the significant importance of MERSs in training marine engineers [32, 39]. While conventional MERSs have achieved satisfactory training effects, they come with limitations, including high costs, limited immersive experiences, and dependency on physical infrastructure and instructor involvement [12, 31, 40]. In response to the limitations of conventional MERS training methods, the concept of fully immersive and interactive VR engine room simulators has been recently developed, highlighting the growing interest in leveraging advanced technology for maritime education. One prominent example is the VR--Ship Engine Room simulator developed by the company Adriacom in cooperation with the Faculty of Maritime Studies at the University of Rijeka, Croatia. This fully immersive VR engine room simulation was specifically developed to assist maritime engineering students not only in acquiring hands-on experience but also in performing diagnostic procedures and managing simulated engine room operations as they would on a real vessel [41]. Another example is from Dalian Maritime University, China, where researchers developed a head-mounted, display-based Immersive Virtual Reality (IVR) marine engine training system based on HTC Vive Pro hardware [42]. Despite the growing interest of the scientific community towards exploring the potential of the integration of VR technology into seafarer training programs (e.g., [2, 5, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47]), studies that have specifically investigated the potential of fully immersive VR engine room simulators in maritime engineer training are relatively scarce and are mainly focused on maritime safety training, including topics related to firefighting and evacuation training [7, 41, 42, 48, 49, 50]. The educational value of the VR technology in the field of engineering is well established. Scoping reviews conducted by [10, 33, 51, 52] reported a variety of evidence supporting the advantages of incorporating VR technology into higher engineering education. The main findings of these investigations revealed that implementing VR activities in learning processes promotes students' engagement, responsiveness and active control over the learning process, self-paced learning, and overall effectiveness and enhances the holistic comprehension of previously acquired knowledge. However, there is a scarcity of research that specifically investigates the educational benefits of immersive VR technology in maritime higher education. [PERSON] (2024) [12] conducted one such study that offers valuable insights into this emerging field. He surveyed maritime students during immersive VR engine room trials and found that respondents who had never used the immersive VR technology held a positive view of its potential to improve their learning outcomes. In addition, the research demonstrated that these students were of the opinion that the immersive VR engine room simulator could substantially enhance the effectiveness of their training by providing a more interactive learning environment than traditional MERSs.