Project

KEXRI - Central Finland XR Innovation Ecosystem

Project sponsors

Abbreviation
KEXRI
Project type
Development project
Focus area
Innovative Learning
Implementation time
1.5.2021 - 30.6.2023
Project unit
School of Professional Teacher Education
Financing program
European Regional Development Fund (ERDF)
Primary home page
https://kexri.io/
Project description

KEXRI - Central Finland XR Innovation Ecosystem joins local business, R&D, and education organisations to build joint expertise and to seek sustainable solutions for using XR-technologies and virtual realities to create new business opportunities and education innovations. 


Aims 

The overarching result of the project will be the XR innovation ecosystem itself, with its network of expertise to share knowledge, construct joint expertise, co-innovate, facilitate collaboration and bring people together.Within this ecosystem framework, the results will be as follows:

  1. Knowledge and understanding of XR technologies and their applications and use across business sectors and invarious contexts. Information on the competence needs of companies and other actors.
  2. An operating environment and spaces in virtual reality for the Innovation ecosystem; a platform for communication and engagement of the public, and an operating environment for the network of expertise.
  3. Awareness of and interest in the use and applications of XR have grown within the local business community, and there is support available for activities in XR the environment. Actors from business and support and training develop their competence within the innovation ecosystem.
  4. New policies, models and competences to improve the performance of local XR-experts and companies (XR reality service design and facilitation, training concepts and models of learning, XR events, business concepts). These will be published in the XR handbook.
  5. Stronger joint expertise and collaboration between R&D organisations, business and education. The networks of expertise is key to secure the sustainability, expansion and growth of the ecosystem.
Benefits for the regional actors include improved performance and new business opportunities and services; and stronger collaboration for business and education. New domain of expertise will be created in the province and the new sector will create employment and entrepreneurial opportunities, the virtual operating environment allows for a global customer base. The partnerships between research, education and innovation actors will improve the accumulation of knowledge and capabilities and, thus, the increase of research and innovation capacity.

Through its extending networks, the network of expertise may become an internationally significant, pioneering innovation ecosystem. It will contribute, in line with sustainable development, to continuity in the emergence of new innovations; identifying training needs and responding to them. Finally, operations in the XR environment will reduce the impact of travel. The declining need for mobility also results in a halt to site-dependent activities and the polarisation of regions.

Partners

Witas Oy
Kehittämisyhtiö Karstulanseutu Oy
Jamk University of Applied Sciences
University of Jyväskylä
POKE Vocational College
Äänekosken Kehitys Oy
Regional Council of Central Finland
European Regional Development Fund (EDRF)

Contact


Kirsi Niskanen, Witas Oy

Ilona Laakkonen, JAMK Professional teacher education

Project results

The tangible outcomes of the project include practical tools for XR skill development, such as information cards and an XR practitioner's handbook. This handbook compiles the project's resulting frameworks, concepts, and broadly applicable XR-related knowledge. Challenges were also identified, notably the need to develop companies' digital expertise and address the limited interest in XR technologies.

The project's results and ecosystem will be integrated into the operations of participating organizations. The materials produced will serve as valuable resources in enhancing the capabilities of their own entities and stakeholders. The collaborative networks formed during the project will continue to foster the growth of XR competence in the region even after its conclusion. 

The ecosystem remains open to all interested parties, and additional information can be obtained from the website kexri.io or the development companies, educational institutions, and Northern Central Finland Hubs involved in the project.