Lead XR-driven innovation across product, process, and customer experience.

A 16-week executive journey blending 80 hours of live online sessions with three intensive Innovation Studios at Sapienza University in Rome. For leaders ready to turn extended reality into business outcomes.

Supported by

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10 ECTS

Advanced University Course

Online

Weekly + Innovation Studio in Rome, Italy

16 weeks

Duration

18 September 2026

Start date

English

Language

EIT Manufacturing South and Sapienza University of Rome

Partners

Executives, Freelancers, Technical Graduates

Ideal for

XR-Driven Design Thinking and Innovation is a 16-week online university-level course (10 ECTS) that mixes innovation methods and cutting-edge immersive technology (AR/VR, together called XR).

The program blends academic rigour and hands-on practice, drawing on a multidisciplinary framework that integrates design, engineering, business, and the social sciences. It includes 80 hours of live online sessions and three optional Innovation Studios in Rome.

Learning activities include:

👇 Interactive lectures - live online
👩‍💻 Hands-on labs - where you practice with XR tech such as Unity, Vuforia and Frame VR
💡 Design sprints & real cases - to learn how innovation really works
🤝 Feedback & mentoring - from XR professionals You’ll learn design thinking, a creative methodology for solving problems, and how to use XR tools to design and prototype new ideas.

Designed for practitioners who build things

Who should attend

Innovation & R&D managers leveraging XR for new product development
Entrepreneurs and startup founders developing immersive or Industry 4.0 solutions
Consultants and freelancers in user experience, product design, or business innovation
Young professionals and STEM graduates building XR expertise

What you will learn

Combine human-centred design thinking with XR tools to create real solutions
Build and test working XR prototypes that address real user needs
Connect XR with data tools like AI and IoT
Make a strategic case for innovation investment with industry-standard XR platforms

The learning journey

Unit 1: Digital Entrepreneurship & Innovation Management

Lean startup methods and business model innovation in XR

Unit 2: Human-Centred Design for XR

Designing immersive experiences with users at the core

Unit 3: XR Technologies & Tools

Hands-on technical skills with leading platforms

Unit 4: Evaluation & Impact Assessment

Assessing and optimising XR solutions

Unit 5: Business Case Studies

Real-world insights from industry leaders and startups

Add-On: Innovation Studio

With project mentoring and in-person labs at Sapienza University in Rome

Frame

Week 10 · Friday – Saturday

Sapienza University, Via Flaminia 70, Rome - Italy

Bring your innovation challenge. Design thinking sprints with mentors after Units 1 and 2. Turn an ambiguous problem into a defensible value proposition.

Build

Week 17 · Friday – Saturday

Sapienza University, Via Flaminia 70, Rome - Italy

Hands-on XR prototyping after Unit 3. Work with Unity, Vuforia and FrameVR alongside faculty and company experts.

Showcase

Week 20 · Friday – Saturday

Sapienza University, Via Flaminia 70, Rome - Italy

Test, refine and present your XR solution. Industry feedback, demo day, and the final pitch in front of the cohort and partner organisations.

Faculty

Ioannis Chatzigiannakis

Department of Computer, Control and Management Engineering, Sapienza University of Rome

Alessandro Pollini

Sapienza Design Research, Sapienza University of Rome

Alberto Calleo

Department of the Arts, University of Bologna

Luca Casarotto

Department of Project Cultures, IUAV University of Venice

Francesco Di Nocera

Department of Planning, Design, and Technology of Architecture, Sapienza University of Rome

Melina Geleadi

Global Innovation, Brand Strategy and Storyteller Executive

Vlasis Kasapakis

Department of Cultural Technology and Communication, University of Aegean

Viktor Malakuczi

Department of Planning, Design, and Technology of Architecture, Sapienza University of Rome

Margherita Peruzzini

Department of Industrial Engineering, University of Bologna

Diego Pucci

Department of Architecture, University of Bologna

Michele Russo

Department of History, Representation and Restoration of Architecture, Sapienza University of Rome

Andrea Vitaletti

Department of Computer, Control and Management Engineering, Sapienza University of Rome

Certification and partners

EIT Manufacturing
South

EIT Manufacturing is one of the nine Knowledge and Innovation Communities (KICs) supported by the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT), a body of the European Union.

From funding and advisory to education and market access, we provide the tools, connections and expertise manufacturing innovators need to grow.

Unlock Open Innovation: Join forces with industry leaders, innovators and researchers. Together, we turn manufacturing challenges into market opportunities.

Explore your European potential: Get funded. Hundreds of EU funding opportunities are open right now. We help you find them, shape your project and put together the team to win.

Thrive through education: From workshops and hackathons to EU-funded training programmes, we build the skills manufacturing professionals and organisations need to stay ahead.

International community: Initiated by the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT)

SDR Centro Interdipartimentale Design Research - Sapienza University of Rome

SDR is the only interdepartmental university centre at both the regional and national level that focuses on design-driven innovation and design research.

The centre focuses on applied research, interactions with the social context (third mission), and lifelong learning, developed with multidisciplinary contributions and interdisciplinary approaches, and pursuing transdisciplinary outcomes.

With the participation of 66 professors and researchers from 12 departments, it works on four research axes:

Industry, Making and Made in Italy

Digital Society and Social Innovation

Cultural Experience

Health Innovation