VR Immerses Students in Zero-waste Supply Chain
Thursday, April 23, 2026
By Rose Semenov
The power of virtual reality (VR) transported undergraduate Minnesota Carlson students to the Greek island of Tilos for an immersive experience tackling challenges in the zero-waste supply chain.
This marks the first VR case study used in a Carlson classroom. The VR experience, which was developed by INSEAD Immersive Learning with AVRIS as the tech enabler, is based on research conducted by INSEAD Business School professors and Carlson Supply Chain & Operations Associate Professor Necati Ertekin.
In 2024, Ertekin studied how the company Polygreen used circular economy solutions — aimed at reducing waste generation and boosting recycling rates — to eliminate landfilling on Tilos and increase the island’s recycling rate to nearly 90% in two years. Ertekin’s work focused on how to encourage residents to participate in recycling by strengthening the perceived value of the program.
“The research project in Tilos showed that a remote island could achieve zero waste by fundamentally rethinking how residents, businesses and systems interact, offering insights that are broadly applicable to sustainability transitions in other communities worldwide,” said Ertekin, who teaches the Supply Chain Planning and Control course. “I wanted students to experience that transformation not as a static case, but as a lived environment where they can observe the behavioral, operational and financial trade-offs that make or break sustainability initiatives.”
Through VR, that project came to life in the classroom. Unlike a traditional case study that entails a series of readings, the technology provided a lifelike, interactive experience. The students followed the waste process on Tilos, from a household to sorting and processing.
“Actually seeing the people when you turn around using the VR, you feel like you're literally standing right there — everything just feels like it's real,” said Amayramy Ruiz Barrios, a junior double-majoring in Accounting and Supply Chain & Operations Management. “It feels more impactful in the sense that you want to make a change to help the community there.”
Students also met the Polygreen founder and chairman in the virtual environment. Through the LearnAI platform, they engaged in a video conference with him via a generative AI-powered avatar. This allowed students to have unscripted conversations to discuss behavioral strategies to increase public participation and financial approaches to sustaining the system.
“He answered like a person. He had facial expressions,” said Jeffrey Linzy, a junior majoring in Supply Chain & Operations Management. “It almost did feel like I was having a conversation with him, and for the questions that I was asking him, he gave really thoughtful answers.”
Throughout the class, the students regrouped for classroom discussion guided by Ertekin. MaKenna Butzin, a junior Marketing major, says the VR case study provided a new way to apply concepts learned throughout the semester.
“The big thing that I learned is that you have to market and tailor your messaging to different communities, so not one size fits all,” said Butzin. “You have to make sure that you're sending the right message out to the right people at the right time.”
Ertekin worked in coordination with Charlie Heinz of the University of Minnesota Libraries to incorporate the technology into the course. Through its virtual reality services, UMN Libraries supports student success through innovation and creativity with virtual reality and partners with faculty to explore innovative ways of teaching.
“Emerging educational technologies such as virtual reality enable learners to step into complex systems and directly experience how behavioral change, infrastructure design and stakeholder incentives interact in real time,” said Ertekin. “When combined with AI-enabled interaction, VR transforms abstract sustainability challenges into immersive, experiential learning environments that are more engaging, memorable, and grounded in the realities of systemic change.”