ViWAS
Virtual Worlds Academy of Skills

The ViWAS, Virtual Worlds Academy of Skills project is a strategic initiative aimed at establishing an online centre of excellence in the field of virtual worlds and extended reality technologies (XR).

The primary objective is to create an ecosystem that builds XR competencies for various educational sectors. These competencies are essential for seamlessly integrating physical and digital environments in real time, which forms the foundation of virtual worlds and the development of the next generation of the Internet (Web 4.0).

The consortium is interdisciplinary in nature, and the combination of expertise from partners across various fields—ranging from industrial technologies, through the social sciences and humanities, to creative design—ensures that each member contributes unique and complementary expertise. Thus, within the entire ecosystem, higher education institutions provide expertise in curriculum design, vocational training institutions offer practical training and industry connections, research organizations advance knowledge in the field of virtual world technologies, while industry partners ensure that the designed curricula align with the labour market and facilitate their practical implementation.

Key project objectives:

  • Identifying and addressing competency gaps: By mapping current academic and vocational programs and analysing the labour market and technological trends related to industries utilizing XR, gaps in these areas will be identified. This will enable the design and development of appropriate ecosystem components to address these gaps.
  • Creation of a European Competence and Qualifications Framework (CQF): One of the key objectives is to develop a pan-European Competence and Qualifications Framework for professions related to virtual worlds, which will enable the effective standardization of competencies on an international scale.
  • Development of new educational programs: This objective involves creating flexible educational programs tailored to the needs of the labour market, which utilize technology and virtual environments to teach the required skills. This will expand educational opportunities related to XR in higher education and vocational training curricula.
  • The new curricula will be implemented on a pilot basis in selected schools and companies, ensuring that students’ and employees’ qualifications are raised to uniform European standards.
  • Development of a curriculum catalogue: This involves the creation, management, and maintenance of a catalogue of curricula and training programs within the ViWAS ecosystem.

ViWAS represents a comprehensive approach to building the skills of the future, directly addressing the rapidly changing needs of the digital economy. The project supports the European ELEVATE initiative, which will also establish skills academies in the fields of AI, quantum computing, and cybersecurity. The project aims to prepare a highly qualified workforce capable of designing, developing, and implementing interoperable virtual world applications. In this way, ViWAS addresses emerging industrial and societal challenges while strengthening Europe’s leadership in Web 4.0 and advanced digital technologies.

As the sole Polish partner in the consortium, PCSS will serve as a strategic point of access for all national institutions involved in the field of virtual worlds, as well as for those wishing to support this initiative.

Project coordinator:

Partners:

Partnerzy wspierający:

Start date: 2026-05-01
End date: 2030-04-30
Role: Partner
Origin: Foreign project

Funding: Digital Europe Programme (DIGITAL)

Website: https://viwasproject.eu/
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