Launching Europe’s future: new Digital Skills Academies in Quantum Technologies, AI Skills, and Virtual Worlds

Image: EDSA26 Academies panel

Under the Digital Europe Programme 2025-2027, the European Commission issued a call to establish sectoral digital skills academies in three key capacity areas: Quantum Technologies, AI Skills, and Virtual Worlds. These academies will serve as central hubs for training, knowledge sharing, and collaboration, bridging the gap between cutting-edge technology and the skills needed to deploy it effectively.

The new Academies join the digital skills ecosystem that the Digital skills and Jobs Platform (DSJP) has already created for the Cybersecurity Skills Academy – which focuses on Europe’s cyber skills and talent shortage, and the EuroHPC Virtual Training Academy, which builds high-performance computing (HPC) learning pathways. Coming in the future will be the launch of the Chips Skills Academy.

Quantum Skills Digital Academy: unlocking the potential of quantum technologies

Quantum technologies have the potential to revolutionise industries from healthcare to finance, offering solutions to complex global challenges. 

The Quantum Skills Digital Academy aims to establish an information hub for quantum technology training and education across Europe. Its mission is to provide specialised training and hands-on experience at different levels to ensure that Europe has the expertise needed to lead in quantum computing, simulation, communication, sensing, and metrology, and accelerate knowledge transfer to industry. 

Equipping professionals with the quantum skills they need can stimulate the development of industrial applications of AI technologies, to help ensure that Europe remains competitive in a high-stakes field.

Key features

• Academic programmes and modular training designed for different target groups, from beginners to advanced professionals
• Strong links with research and development projects 
• Training tailored for professionals who may not have a background in quantum physics or engineering, making quantum technologies accessible to a broader audience
• Support for EU objectives: the academy supports the European Competence Framework for Quantum Technologies

AI Skills Academy: powering Europe’s role in the AI revolution

Generative AI is transforming industries from science and healthcare to knowledge and creative industries. However, many EU professionals are still unfamiliar with its applications – and its societal implications. 

The AI Skills Academy intends to become a central hub for artificial intelligence (AI) education, addressing an urgent need for expertise in developing, deploying, and utilising large AI models. It sets out to democratise AI knowledge, ensuring that businesses, researchers, and policymakers can develop, deploy, and regulate AI responsibly, and foster innovation without neglecting ethical concerns and societal implications.

A significant issue of digital sovereignty is that currently, most advanced AI systems are currently built outside the EU – this Academy will serve to help close the AI digital skills gap and ensure that European professionals can safely harness the full potential of AI technologies.

Key features

• Modular training programmes in two main focus areas: 
• Skills related to the AI Factories facilities, complementing the work of the EuroHPC Virtual Training Academy 
  • Skills for the uptake and deployment of AI (in particular GenAI) in key economic sectors 
  • Integration with academic curricula: Training modules designed to be embedded into existing academic curricula at various levels and for various target groups 
• Support for EU objectives: the Academy contributes to the objectives of the AI Innovation package and supports the Apply AI Strategy
• Cooperation  with existing initiatives: AI-on-Demand Platform, Networks of Excellence in AI, European Digital Innovation Hubs, all EuroHPC Factories

Virtual Worlds Skills Academy: shaping the future of immersive technologies

Virtual worlds involve the blending of physical and digital realities in real time, and are increasingly used for designing prototypes, virtualising cities, and running complex simulations, making them a cornerstone of the digital economy. These technologies are already transforming education, urban planning, manufacturing, and healthcare.

The Virtual Worlds Skills Academy will serve as a central hub for expertise in virtual and immersive technologies, addressing the rising demand for skills in this rapidly evolving field.  This Academy will equip professionals and citizens with the skills to help Europe lead in the development of ethical, secure, and innovative virtual environments, ensuring that the technology serves societal needs while mitigating societal risks.

Virtual worlds require a highly interdisciplinary approach, bringing different technologies and disciplines together. To generate high-level expertise, the academy will focus on education and trainings that encompass all necessary technological components of virtual worlds as well as creative and other related disciplines. 

Key features

• Training at all levels: basic to advanced, and including initiatives targeted at university, VET and secondary-education teachers
• Interdisciplinary approach: virtual worlds incorporate many different technologies and disciplines 
  • All necessary technological components of virtual worlds (eg, extended reality, blockchain, AI, data, edge computing, high-performance computing, 3D graphics, interactive media, content creation, computer vision, modelling and industrial applications [digital twins], digital identity, data privacy and big data
  • Creative and other knowledge-based disciplines (law, ethics, design, etc.)
  • To equip sectoral specialists (eg, automotive industry, healthcare, education, cultural and creative industries) with the knowledge to deploy virtual worlds in their sectors and realise its benefits
  • Basic understanding of virtual worlds technologies for citizens, to raise awareness of the opportunities and risks of virtual worlds 
• Partnerships and collaboration frameworks between academia, industry (including SMEs), and research institutions to identify gaps in current training offers and develop targeted solutions

Supporting Europe’s digital transformation

Europe faces a shortage of digital skills, with demand far outstripping supply in emerging technologies. These academies will provide targeted, high-quality training to meet industry needs and reduce reliance on external expertise. Europe can foster its homegrown talent and reduce its dependence on foreign technology, strengthening its position as a global leader in innovation. 

The Digital Decade 2030 targets include ensuring that 80% of Europeans have basic digital skills and 20 million ICT specialists are employed in the EU. These academies will play a key role in achieving these goals by providing advanced and specialised training and acting as a hub for collaboration between academia, industry, and policymakers, to ensure that training programmes are relevant, up-to-date, and aligned with market needs.

Beyond professional training, the academies will also empower EU citizens by raising awareness among the general public about the opportunities and risks of emerging technologies, promoting digital literacy and responsible innovation.