DIGITAL-2025-SKILLS-08-VIRTUAL-WORLDS-ACADEMY-STEP — Sectoral digital skills academies: Virtual Worlds Skills Academy

The European Commission has launched the DIGITAL-2025-SKILLS-08-VIRTUAL-WORLDS-ACADEMY-STEP call under the Digital Europe Programme. This initiative aims to establish a Virtual Worlds Skills Academy to address the growing demand for expertise in virtual and immersive technologies across Europe.

Objectives

The EU’s Virtual Worlds Skills Academy will pursue the following objectives:

• Building on the existing actions and initiatives in Virtual Worlds in close cooperation with industry and identifying meaningful current academic and training offers,
• Planning and designing the Competence and qualification framework (CQF) for education and training in virtual worlds, including qualification standards,
• Based on the CQF, developing, managing and maintaining a catalogue of education and training curricula and programmes for the virtual worlds sector,
• Creating an ecosystem of EU stakeholders involved in teaching disciplines related to virtual worlds technologies to increase the capacity of nurturing, attracting and retaining talent.

Scope

The activities of the Virtual Worlds Skills Academy will be centred around three pillars of action.

Pillar 1: Knowledge, education, and training

The following sets of disciplines, correspond to key building blocks of virtual worlds:

• innovative technologies (e.g. extended reality (XR), blockchain, AI, data, edge computing, high-performance computing, 3D graphics, interactive media, computer vision, modelling and industrial applications (digital twins), digital identity, and big data),
• creative subjects (e.g. audiovisual production, performing arts, animation, architecture, creative writing and storytelling, fashion, game design), and
• social sciences and humanities (e.g. law, ethics, geography, anthropology). 

Integrating this interdisciplinarity approach, the Academy will plan and design a Competence and qualification framework (CQF) for education and training in virtual worlds. The Academy will target:

1. Higher education students and young graduates wishing to specialise in the design and development of virtual worlds
2. Academic staff teaching disciplines related to virtual worlds technologies
3. Upper secondary and/or vocational education (VET) students
4. Upper secondary and/or VET teaching staff
5. Professionals in different sectors (e.g. health, agriculture, automotive, public
6. Citizens

The Academy will commit as the first adopter and provider of the designed programmes and activities for each target group. The consortium will deliver a minimum of one higher education programme leading to a degree (starting two programme cycles) and is encouraged to provide at least one vocational programme. 

Pillar 2: Building the ecosystem
The Academy will create synergies with EU-wide ongoing initiatives or schemes (e.g. Erasmus+) and maintain constant collaboration with the EU advanced digital skills umbrella action ELEVATE. The academy will also build synergies and complementarities with other EU funding programmes and existing education and training initiatives such as the EIT Campus, the EIT Community AI and EIT Deep Tech Talent Initiative (DTTI), the Erasmus+ European Universities Alliances, Alliances for Innovation and Centres of Vocational Excellence.

Building upon and expanding this network, the Virtual Worlds Academy will foster an ecosystem of EU stakeholders around virtual worlds skills, which will include,
at least:

• higher education institutions,
• upper secondary schools, VET institutions,
• research organisations, innovation centres,
• industry partners,
• public institutions at EU and Member State or regional level (e.g. ministries,
  agencies),
• NGOs, associations, (e.g. for consumers),
• Education service providers.

Pillar 3: Measuring progress
The proposals will include a methodology to monitor the evolution of the labour market, and the progress in closing skills gap in the virtual worlds sector. The indicators and benchmarks will be in line with the EU measurement frameworks.

Consortium Composition 

The Consortium must be composed of a minimum of 6 (beneficiaries; not affiliated entities) from a minimum of 4 different eligible countries. It is highly recommended to include in the consortium 3 higher education institutions from 3 different eligible countries, a minimum of 2 industry partners with headquarters in 2 different eligible countries and at least 1 research organisations/excellence centres. The consortium is also encouraged to involve small and medium enterprises (SMEs), and start-ups. 

Funding and Duration

Budget: €10 million of European Commission funding

Funding rate: 50%

Project duration: 4 years

Timetable