The project will develop the first 3D virtual laboratory to support problem-based learning (PBL) in the natural sciences at university level. This builds on a successful track record of the Learnexx3D Platform, which enables users to learn practical, scientific skills in a 3D virtual environment. There are two rationales for this: the first is educational, and concerns the value of PBL for improved graduate learning outcomes and employability; the second is financial, and concerns the likely return on investment in a tool which is already in use in several top UK universities and has the potential to reach a much larger international higher education market.