Immersive and interactive technologies (such as XR, AR/VR/MR, virtual worlds, digital twins) are rapidly becoming strategic enablers for Europe’s transition towards Industry 5.0. In Wallonia, the Human Interaction Technology Transfer (HITT) Strategic Innovation Initiative (IIS) brings together key research, industry and creative actors to accelerate the development of XR technologies.

The challenge

To strengthen Wallonia’s international visibility and fully integrate its XR ecosystem into merging European dynamics, regional actors need dedicated support. This includes identifying and mobilising the right partners, aligning with EU priorities, participating in strategic events and building cross-border collaborations that can lead to concrete demonstration and pilot projects.

The MiiL (UCLouvain), responsible for the internationalisation strategy of IIS HITT, required operational and strategic support to amplify Wallonia’s presence in Europe, accelerate partnerships and prepare the ecosystem for long-term integration into the European XR landscape.

Approach & results

IDEA Consult support the MiiL and XR Wallonia in developing and implementing a comprehensive roadmap to scale the XR ecosystem internationally. The work is structured around a proven methodology supporting innovation ecosystems: Learn à Connect à Demonstrate à Commercialise à Scale Up.

Our role combines ecosystem structuring, strategic guidance, and hands-on project facilitation, organised in two main phases:

Phase 1: accelerating Wallonia’s representation in Europe. IDEA Consult works closely with the MiiL to strengthen Wallonia’s position in European XR networks and align the ecosystem with EU priorities related to Industry 5.0 and Virtual Worlds. Activities include:

• Mapping and stakeholder identification across research actors, solution providers and priority application domains aligned with Wallonia’s S3 priorities
• Structuring interconnections between technology developers, industrial adopters and international partners, forming a pipeline of use cases, demo cases and pilot opportunities
• Supporting participation in EU agendas, including consultations, working groups and events hosted by the European Commission and sectoral associations
• Strengthening strategic partnerships through targeted networking, brokerage and alignment of ecosystem needs with European programmes

Phase 2: integration of United XR Europe and KiKK Festival. The project also leverages major international XR events hosted in Wallonia (United XR Europe and KiKK Festival) to maximise visibility and collaboration:

• Designing tailored programmes and workshops that foster cross-border innovation exchanges.
• Showcasing open innovation projects developed within XR Wallonia.
• Facilitating engagement between policymakers, technology providers, investors and creative industries.
• Using the festivals as catalysts to initiate multidisciplinary XR collaborations and prepare future European project proposals.

To ensure effective execution, IDEA Consult provides:

• Weekly coordination meetings and monthly check-ins with MiiL teams.
• Strategic quarterly steering meetings to validate actors lists, use cases, events and strategic decisions.
• Operational tools and support, including collaborative workspaces (Miro), meeting facilitation, documentation, and workshop design.