The overall aim of the UM-HEART-VR project is to improve communication and empathy soft skills uptake in Malaysia and the wider Asian region by empowering Malaysian Health Higher Education through VR-based Problem-Based Learning (PBL) educational activities.

Specifically, in supporting digital transformation while strengthening communication and empathy-driven healthcare education. UM-HEART-VR is designed with clear and strategic objectives to:

1. Modernize the digital health curricula of Partner Country Universities (PCUs) by identifying curriculum inflection points for integrating relevant communication and empathy soft skills.
2. Enhance the skills of medical and nursing educators, technologists, and content experts at PCUs in co-creative educational resource design and VR-based PBL teaching practices.
3. Update existing digital health teaching in PCUs by incorporating and validating exemplary VR-based resources in current or new curriculum courses focusing on communication and empathy soft skills.
4. Modernize the administrative infrastructure of PCUs by implementing roles/offices responsible for monitoring and updating university training capacities in communication and empathy soft skills.
5. Expand national and regional cooperation on digital health transformation through the establishment of a Disruptive Communication and Empathy Training (DisCET) National Hub, fostering collaboration among Higher Education Institutes, businesses, and healthcare organizations.