LEAPXR: 1.3 million for innovation in healthcare and entrepreneurship

LEAPXR, which stands for Linking Education and Applied Practice for Entrepreneurship and Innovation in eXtended Reality, provides students, lecturers and industry partners with the opportunity to develop their entrepreneurial skills. The project which started on 1 April 2025, aims to find innovative solutions for the healthcare and technology sectors. The focus will be on the smart application of XR technology, including augmented reality and virtual reality. Saxion is taking on a coordinating role through its Saxion Centre for Entrepreneurship (SCvO). The Saxion XR-lab will also be closely involved in the LEAPXR project along with SCvO.

Societal relevance

Partners want to use the focus on XR technology to help find solutions to key societal problems such as the ageing population and differences in healthcare. At the same time LEAPXR wants to promote inclusiveness and gender equality in technology driven entrepreneurship. Thanks to the SCvO and others, special emphasis is being put on encouraging women to take on leadership roles in sectors like XR and deep tech.

Innovation hub

An advanced XR infrastructure will be developed in the next two years, along with setting up a framework for entrepreneurship and the creation of a European XR innovation hub to support startups. Saxion will receive almost 300,000 euros of the total grant which exceeds 1.3 million euros. This money will be used among other things to develop training programmes which will apply entrepreneurial models in practice. During the project 25 startups will receive support, 1,000 students and 330 staff will be trained and twelve partnerships will be set up.

Strengthening the European economy

LEAPXR wants to contribute to the strengthening of the European economy and innovation systems. The initiative aligns well with the activities of E³UDRES² (Engaged and Entrepreneurial European University as Driver for European Smart and Sustainable Regions), the European alliance of universities and applied universities where some of the partners have already been working together for some time. LEAPXR contributes to building a resilient European innovation system, and supports sustainable employment. The collaboration with international partners will provide startups with valuable support, ranging from mentorship to international market opportunities. All of this helps increase the impact of LEAPXR in the long term, and will strengthen Europe’s role as leader in XR driven innovation.

The XR perspective

Focusing on XR is a perfect fit for Saxion where for example, the Health & Wellbeing XR hub was recently opened. The SCvO minor Startup Entrepreneur has led to XR related startups such as Cherit. Furthermore, September 2025 sees the start of the XR focused joint master’s degree GRACE. This joint master’s degree, which has taken shape within the E³UDRES² collaboration, will make frequent use of the Saxion XR Lab. Saxion will also be putting more emphasis on experiential learning with XR in its education. This enables for example, nursing students to experience other perspectives and situations that they may be confronted with when performing their professional duties in the future.