This is the dataset from the publication "Effect of head-mounted displays on students' acquisition of surgical suturing techniques compared to an e-learning and tutor-led course: A randomized controlled trial" by Peters et al. (2023). The dataset has been described and evaluated in detail with respect to its usefulness for the development of AI-based assessment models for open suturing in "AIxSuture: vision-based assessment of open suturing skills" by Hoffmann et al. (2024). It contains 314 5-minute videos showing 157 students performing surgical suturing before and after a 1-hour training course. In addition, the number of sutures performed within the 5 minutes is recorded. The evaluation was performed in a blinded and anonymized manner by 3 experienced oral and maxillofacial surgery residents (1 in the penultimate year and 2 in the final year). The raters all had degrees in both medicine and dentistry. The assessment was performed using the Objective Structured Assessment of Technical Skills (OSATS). Eight items were scored. Finally, the global rating score (GRS) was calculated based on these 8 items. The inter-rater variability ranged from 0.8 to 0.83.