University academics’ perceptions regarding the future use of telepresence robots to enhance virtual transnational education: an exploratory investigation in a developing country

There is a growing interest in employing telepresence robots in different educational contexts due to their great potentials to enhance and improve educational experiences for remote learners. However, there is little use of telepresence robots in virtual transnational education contexts in developing countries. There is a lack of knowledge about university academics’ perceptions regarding the future use of telepresence robots to enhance virtual transnational education contexts. This exploratory research aims to fill this gap by seeking to have evidence-based information on whether telepresence robots as a new emerging technology is perceived among university academics as a useful tool for enhancing virtual transnational education or not. This study also seeks to better understand university academics’ perceptions of obstacles that may hinder them from using telepresence robots and the support that they will need. A sample of 46 Egyptian university academics participated in this study. The results of the study revealed that the academics perceived telepresence robots to have a great potential to enhance virtual transnational education. The academics also perceived telepresence robotics to have positive effects on educational activities. Furthermore, the participants indicated a number of barriers regarding integrating telepresence robotics into the teaching and learning activities and identified the types of support they will need. The uptake of telepresence robots to enhance virtual transnational education could lead to a larger international learner population, better virtual transnational education, and more university revenue. Recommendations for future research are also presented. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s40561-021-00173-8.