Golinelli LiVE – Live Virtual Experience

Golinelli LiVE is an immersive virtual laboratory platform designed to enable students to practice biotechnology, biology, and biochemistry experiments in a safe and accessible virtual environment. The initiative was developed by G-Lab S.r.l. Impresa Sociale for Fondazione Golinelli, a leading Italian foundation dedicated to innovation in education, science communication, and STEAM learning.

Background and context 

Many schools across Europe face a structural limitation: the lack of fully equipped laboratory facilities for experimental sciences. Laboratory equipment is often expensive, requires specialised infrastructure, and may pose safety constraints that limit access for students. Golinelli LiVE addresses this challenge by recreating realistic laboratory environments in virtual reality. Using affordable standalone VR headsets (Meta Quest), students can perform complex experimental procedures such as molecular biology protocols, biotechnology workflows, and biochemical analysis. 

About this initiative 

The platform allows learners to explore a realistic laboratory environment, interact with scientific instruments, perform experimental procedures step by step, and learn correct laboratory practices and experimental reasoning. The initiative targets secondary school students, VET learners, and teachers in STEM disciplines, particularly in biology, biotechnology, and chemistry. It is especially beneficial for schools lacking laboratory facilities, enabling students to gain hands-on experimental experience through immersive virtual environments.

Teachers are supported through a dedicated teacher dashboard which enables them to monitor student progress, guide the learning experience, and manage classroom activities in real time. In addition, Golinelli LiVE includes a scenario configurator that allows educators to design and publish new virtual laboratory experiences tailored to their own classes without requiring advanced technical skills. By combining immersive technologies, scalable digital infrastructure, and pedagogical design, Golinelli LiVE democratizes access to high quality experimental science education and strengthens digital and scientific skills among students.

Why is this a good practice?

Golinelli LiVE has already been deployed in 70 schools, reaching tens of thousands of students across Italy. There is strong coverage in biomedical-focused schools, with further expansion planned toward general 
education schools to broaden overall reach. The platform is used in educational programs delivered by G-Lab 
and Fondazione Golinelli, allowing more than 700 students and more than 600 teachers to practice with it and develop both scientific and digital competencies.

The system, using a rolling-release model and providing authoring tools for creating custom scenarios, ensures the continuous delivery of new, ready-to-use experiences. Today, it hosts dozens of original labs developed by teachers and students. The solution uses affordable standalone VR headsets, ensuring scientific accuracy and quality, and at the same time making advanced STEM labs accessible for schools lacking specialised equipment, enabling future expansion at national and European levels.

Golinelli LiVE demonstrates how immersive technologies can transform access to science education. While 
laboratory training is essential for biotechnology and life sciences, many schools lack the infrastructure required to provide meaningful experimental experiences. By combining virtual reality, pedagogical design, and 
accessible hardware, the initiative enables thousands of students to practice scientific procedures that would otherwise be unavailable to them. The platform empowers teachers with digital tools to manage immersive classrooms and create new learning scenarios, making it both scalable and adaptable. Golinelli LiVE represents a concrete example of how emerging technologies can reduce educational inequalities and strengthen digital and scientific skills among young learners.