Virtual laboratory (VLab) has been observed for its function for the merit of online course delivery. It is believed that the existence of VLab may enhance students’ academic achievements. However, the study which researches its impact on the students’ independence is still limited. This systematic review study aims to determine students’ self-regulated learning (SRL) on the use of VLab by implementing PICOS (Population, Intervention, Comparison, Outcome, Study Design). Further, we examined whether the strategies of SRL, such as cognitive, metacognitive, motivational, behavioral, and contextual strategies owned by students at higher education levels, increased because of leveraging the VLab. We identified 267 articles from Scopus and the Web of Science databases, then utilized the PRISMA guidelines to specify the 249 eligible articles. As a result, only 20 articles passed the criteria of the feasibility stage (1) higher education level, (2) informing online learning, (3) containing materials discussing VLab, and (4) representing the concept of SRL. However, the finding showed that all interventions had positively affected students’ performance. Based on the analyzed data, we confirm that VLab can be considered for providing the learning experience since it bridges the gap between students’ prior knowledge and experience and provides an active social experience.

Higher Education 4.0 deals with the spread of technologies and espouses the notion that today’s learners need to be trained and not merely taught by rote and memorisation drills. The present is a period whereby data and information must be made accessible and open 24/7 so that learners can learn about how to find knowledge rather than to wait to be spoon-fed from their instructor’s textbooks. Higher Education 4.0 is contingent upon the concept of ‘immersive learning’ to afford learners with an educational atmosphere that is exceedingly interactive at the physical and virtual levels. Hence, immersive learning experiences could replicate possible scenarios that learners will face in real life and impart specific techniques or skills based on their different academic syllabuses. Employing immersive learning experiences that incorporate 360-degree real life videos and VR technologies to remote teach advanced communication skills to technical and vocational students at several public universities in Malaysia, this research paper highlights the fact that novel learning technologies and immersive learning experiences are not merely fads of Higher Education 4.0. Rather, they are glimpses of tomorrow’s world, based on quantitative and qualitative data collected from end-users (Malaysian university students) of a learning innovation initiative called ‘ELSA 360°-Videos’.

Industry 4.0 is a time of serious disruptions whereby monumental changes are happening in the world of work, in the ways we teach and learn, and in the ways that we live our lives. Increased automation coupled with artificial intelligence are making humans obsolete, for instance, in the manufacturing and service industries. Intelligent machines are useful but human beings are losing livelihoods or becoming trapped in the ‘gig economy’. This empirical study collected and examined qualitative data related to Industry 4.0 critical skills outlined by the World Economic Forum from ASEAN student leaders at five tertiary polytechnics in Brunei, Indonesia and Malaysia. ‘Netnography’ data collection instruments were employed namely online interviews and group discussions within a cloud-based instant messaging and VOIP service together with face-to-face focus group discussions, where permissible. Results do not look too promising with a number of the participants still in the dark about what skills they need to acquire for Industry 4.0 and how they must hone those skills before they enter an uncertain world of work in 2020 and beyond. Clearly, ASEAN nations must move fast, un-train and retrain tertiary students in the vital skills needed to survive and succeed in the post-Industry 4.0 era.