The Kick-off Meeting of the UPRAISE – Virtual Worlds Innovation Masters: Shaping Future Digital Skills for Europe project was held at the University of Bologna from 29 to 31 October. The initiative is coordinated by the University of Bologna and funded by the Digital Europe Programme through HaDEA – the European Health and Digital Executive Agency.
Running for four years and supported by a €16 million investment, the project brings together 26 institutions and 9 associated partners from 11 countries, with the goal of developing advanced skills in Virtual Worlds and supporting the integration of immersive technologies into European education and production systems.
“UPRAISE aims to create a shared ecosystem dedicated to Virtual Worlds: a structured European response to the growing need for expertise in eXtended Reality, Digital Twins, Artificial Intelligence and other solutions that integrate physical and digital environments,” says Gustavo Marfia, professor of Computer Science at the Department of the Arts (DAR) and project coordinator. “By 2029, it seeks to make Virtual Worlds skills and training pathways interoperable, inclusive and accessible to students across Europe. Alongside academic institutions, the project also involves companies interested in using these technologies to train their employees.”
The Kick-off Meeting opened with institutional greetings from Professor Rebecca Montanari, Vice-Rector for Digital Transformation, and Professor Riccardo Brizzi, Director of DAR. Dr Massimiliano Ferraresi, Head of the Monitoring, Evaluation and Controls Division of the Emilia-Romagna Region, also took part, highlighting the importance of the project within the region’s innovation landscape.
With UPRAISE, the University of Bologna is leading an international network of universities, research centres and companies working together to build a shared environment for innovation and knowledge, supporting the development of Advanced Digital Skills across Europe.
