Smart glasses in class: BelSU Pharmacy turns into open classroom

At the event, held at the premises of the BelSU Pharmacy science and research complex, the students practiced using eye tracking glasses to collect information, assess the marketing environment and conduct marketing research.

The participants in the experiment class were students of the BelSU Pharmacy Programme, as well as University’s professors and employees aged 17 to 65 years. Using eye tracker glasses, the participants of the educational marketing research had to make a purchase at the pharmacy. According to the task, they had to buy medications for certain symptoms and with a limited budget.

Wearable eye tracker devices identify the elements, which attract the attention of potential pharmacy buyers. The glasses also define the gaze paths with the fixations as well as the saccades. Knowing the exact spots where the gaze lingered the longest and ones that remained unnoticed helps to analyse how consumers perceive advertising and packaging of medicines, and understand how people make purchasing decisions.

‘The use of eye-tracking devices in classes provides students with unique opportunities to immerse in real practice. This not only turns learning into an engaging and interactive activity, but also prepares future professionals for work in a rapidly changing pharmaceutical market, where the adaptability to using most innovative tools is the key success factor,’ emphasized Associate Professor Svetlana Kucheryavenko.