VR Training for Pitching, Emotional Regulation & Cross-Cultural Communication
Want to pitch with confidence in front of any audience, anywhere in the world? The NeuroPitch Lab Blended Intensive Programme (BIP) combines immersive virtual reality, neuromarketing tools and intercultural communication to help you build your pitching, public speaking and communication skills in a safe yet challenging learning environment.
NeuroPitch Lab brings together students from multidisciplinary background to practice pitching ideas in immersive VR environments. You will start with supportive audiences and progressively move towards more demanding scenarios, such as high-pressure pitching deck. Along the way, you will research a selected target culture, including its values, communication norms and consumer behaviour, and use these insights to design a culturally appropriate marketing or sales campaign for a product or service. The programme follows Design-Based Education (DBE) principles, where understanding the user’s context is the starting point for meaningful solutions.
What makes NeuroPitch Lab different is the use of physiological and behavioural feedback. Moodmetric rings measure your electrodermal activity to show how your stress and emotional arousal change while you pitch, and eye-tracking technology available through partner institutions can show where you direct your gaze and how you engage with your audience. This feedback helps you reflect on your performance more objectively and develop your emotional regulation in stressful situations. At the end of the programme, you will present your culturally adapted campaign to academic staff and external stakeholders, and receive feedback from both peers and practitioners.
NeuroPitch Lab is designed to strengthen not only your communication competence but also your confidence, adaptability and emotional intelligence, skills that are increasingly valued in entrepreneurship, management and international collaboration. If you are curious about how science and technology can support your growth as a communicator, we warmly invite you to apply and join an international, interdisciplinary learning experience.
11th of February 2027 to 26th of February 2027
English
To be defined by each higher education institution. Generally, most students will have this BIP certified in their diploma supplement, as a minimal condition.
This BIP is designed for second-year RUN-EU students in Business Management or related fields, such as Marketing, Communication, Design, Engineering and ICT, particularly those interested in sales, business promotion, leadership, public speaking and communication in high-pressure situations. Participants are expected to have a basic understanding of business and marketing concepts, such as target audience, value proposition and customer needs, for example through an introductory business or marketing course.
Please contact your home International Office for grant details.
Programme at a glance
Online session in TEAMS 02/11/2027 16.00 - 18.00 (EET):
- Welcoming participants and introducing the facilitators from each partner institution
- Introducing programme: Present the aims, learning outcomes and overall structure of the BIP
- Getting to know each other and exchanging ideas
- Exploring challenging professional situations for business communication
- Sharing intercultural perspectives and personal experiences in groups
- Wrap-up
Second online week
Online session in TEAMS 02/18/2027 16.00 - 18.00 (EET):
- Welcoming participants back and recapping key insights from the first session
- Introducing the avatar activity: Explain its purpose, demonstrate DialogueTrainer and run a technical check
- Practising a challenging conversation individually with an avatar in DialogueTrainer
- Reflecting on the practice experience individually and discussing it with peers in small groups
- Formulating a personal SMART development goal with facilitator support
- Wrap-up: Share goals and prepare for the week in Finland
09:00 welcome, introduction of the week and team building
11:00 partner introductions and discussion of personal challenges
12:00 lunch
13:00 exploring the practice environments (DialogueTrainer)
14:30 confirming personal goals and feedback criteria
16:00 end of the day
23.02.2027 Tuesday: Develop approaches
09:00 workshop: communication, managing tension and intercultural situations
12:00 lunch
13:00 guided practice and feedback
14:30 wellbeing activities with case company
16:00 end of the day
24.02.2027 Wednesday: Practise and adapt
09:00 practising professional situations with DialogueTrainer and peers
12:00 lunch
13:00 reflection and exchange of perspectives
14:30 repeating selected situations using feedback
16:00 end of the day
25.02.2027 Thursday: Handle the unexpected
09:00 practising challenging variations: critical questions, resistance and unfamiliar audience reactions
12:00 lunch
13:00 targeted practice and coaching linked to individual goals
15:00 preparing for the final scenario
16:00 end of the day
26.02.2027 Friday: Demonstrate and transfer
09:00 student experience survey
10:00 final professional scenario
12:00 lunch
13:00 review of personal development and feedback with partners
14:30 planning application beyond the programme
15:30 closing of the programme
16:00 end of the day
Learning outcomes
By the end of this Erasmus+ Blended Intensive Programme, learners will be able to:
- Design and deliver a persuasive pitch tailored to the needs, expectations and cultural backgrounds of an international audience.
- Apply emotional regulation techniques before and during high-pressure presentations, and evaluate their effectiveness in managing presentation-related stress.
- Adapt verbal and non-verbal communication strategies when pitching to human audiences, AI agents and avatars, taking account of differences in interaction and feedback.
- Respond constructively to unexpected questions, critical feedback and intercultural misunderstandings by clarifying meaning, acknowledging different perspectives and providing relevant, reasoned responses.
- Evaluate their pitching performance through self-reflection and feedback, and demonstrate improvement in subsequent presentations through specific changes to their preparation, delivery and audience interaction
Selection criteria
Students apply through the RUN-EU application platform by answering short motivation questions about their interest in the programme, the audiences they would like to pitch to and the communication situations they find most challenging. Applications are assessed on the applicant’s motivation, the relevance of the programme to their studies and career goals, and their readiness to engage in practice, feedback and reflection
Involved organisations and persons
"Dunarea de Jos" University of Galați
Partner Organisation- Alexandru Capatina (Instructor)
Häme University of Applied Sciences
Lead Organisation, Host Organisation- Mukhammadyusuf Shaimardanov (Lead Instructor)
NHL Stenden University of Applied Sciences
Partner OrganisationOther persons involved
- Dinesh Poudel (Instructor)
- Linda Ziberi (Regional Stakeholder)
- Mariel Leclere (Regional Stakeholder)
- Michiel Galama (Instructor)
Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor EACEA can be held responsible for them. Grant Agreement Number: 101124674
