VR-based technologies are in demand in modern education. They create virtual environment and simulate processes similar to real ones. As a result, students can practice actions that form and consolidate the necessary competencies. This article describes the possibilities of using virtual reality to teach food-industry university students to design production sites, e.g., an independent virtual simulation where students could work on their own projects and developments. The proposed technology offers an improved import-substituting software that creates realistic models of food production, e.g., virtual food processing workshops where students could test and improve their skills in dealing with key parameters and technological processes. The program recreates technological solutions in virtual reality, which simplifies, speeds up, and reduces the cost of developing skills in production site design. This application is the most promising direction for VR technology in education. The software product was developed in the VR laboratory of Kemerovo State University. It allows students to design industrial buildings of various sizes, workshops, and production facilities of various capacities, as well as public catering places and their interior, open public spaces, e.g., city parks, etc. The product has a database for storing and using education materials, design blanks, and ready-made 3D models of equipment created in Unreal Engine. The 3D model database contains digital models of real-life devices and equipment used at food industry enterprises. The projects can be displayed in a visual digital environment to study the principles of equipment operation, monitor and change their parameters, and simulate faults and deviations. The database makes it possible to design small enterprises and large industrial complexes for food production in virtual environment.
