How we design learning, and how it maps to EU competence frameworks
We design scenario-based learning for adults and young adults: serious games, VR and AR simulations in which people practise real situations. This page explains our design loop and who designs, and shows how our work maps to EU competence frameworks such as DigComp 3.0, LifeComp, EntreComp and GreenComp, so partners can use them in proposals.
Our design loop
Start from the behaviour
What should learners be able to do afterwards?
Design the situation
A recognisable moment from their work or life.
Build decisions with consequences
Choices that matter, and outcomes learners can see.
Add feedback and reflection
Explain why something happened, then let learners try again.
Record what people do
Choices, time and progress, only as far as the learning or the evaluation needs.
The full method, with examples, is on our page about scenario-based learning.
In an EU project, the consortium can add a framework step at the start: choose the competences and the target level, select learning outcomes, build scenarios that practise them, and report against those outcomes.
Who designs: our studio team with partners and subject experts
Our studio team designs and builds. It covers immersive software development, game and interaction design, 3D and project coordination. Approximately five learners every six months join us through our apprenticeship programme.
The subject knowledge and the teaching expertise come from the people we design with:
- medical experts and former patients, for a VR experience of delirium for doctors, students, carers and family;
- Toegankelijk Zwolle, for an accessible VR tour of the Sassenpoort Zwolle;
- Hogeschool Windesheim, for a multiplayer VR escape room for firefighters;
- the Dutch underwater sports federation, for realistic underwater scenes for Natuurmonumenten.
In EU projects, that role belongs to the consortium's education partners and to the target groups themselves.
The frameworks we map to
The European Commission's Joint Research Centre (JRC) publishes competence frameworks that describe what people should know and be able to do. DigComp, LifeComp and EntreComp each elaborate one of the eight key competences for lifelong learning in the EU Council Recommendation of 2018.
DigComp 3.0: digital competence
The fifth edition of the European digital competence framework, published on 27 November 2025. It has five competence areas, 21 competences, four proficiency levels (Basic, Intermediate, Advanced, Highly advanced) and over 500 learning outcomes. AI is part of all 21 competences. Source: DigComp 3.0 (JRC).
LifeComp: personal, social and learning to learn
Nine competences in three areas: personal (self-regulation, flexibility, wellbeing), social (empathy, communication, collaboration) and learning to learn (growth mindset, critical thinking, managing learning). LifeComp has no proficiency levels.
EntreComp: entrepreneurship
Fifteen competences in three areas (ideas and opportunities, resources, into action), with an eight-level progression. Entrepreneurship here means acting on opportunities and ideas to create value for others, whether financial, cultural or social.
GreenComp: sustainability
Twelve competences in four areas: embodying sustainability values, embracing complexity in sustainability, envisioning sustainable futures, and acting for sustainability.
For results aimed at educators, the JRC's framework for educators, DigCompEdu, is being revised. The final version is due in spring 2027.
Where our work fits
Each row is a type of design, with an example from our work. The mapping was made afterwards; it is not a statement about a client's own learning outcomes.
| Type of design | See it in practice | Maps to |
|---|---|---|
| Scenario-based VR training for adults with limited language or digital experience | INTOS | LifeComp S2 Communication, P2 Flexibility; EntreComp 2.1 Self-awareness and self-efficacy |
| Communication and intercultural practice in work situations | Speak And Spoke | LifeComp S1 Empathy, S2 Communication, S3 Collaboration, L1 Growth mindset |
| Accessible immersive heritage for people with limited mobility | Sassenpoort Zwolle | DigComp 3.0 5.2 Identifying needs and digital technological responses (for the design team) |
| Sustainability and nature education | Windesheim (a game for children); Natuurmonumenten | GreenComp, for example 1.3 Promoting nature |
| Work-based learning at our studio | Our apprenticeship programme | DigComp 3.0 3.1 Developing digital content, 3.2 Integrating and re-elaborating digital content, 3.4 Computational thinking and programming, 5.1 Identifying and solving technical problems; EntreComp 3.4 Working with others, 3.5 Learning through experience; LifeComp L3 Managing learning |
| AI literacy scenarios, designed with partners | AI literacy and applied AI in learning | DigComp 3.0 1.2 Evaluating information, 2.4 Collaborating through digital technologies, 4.2 Protecting personal data and privacy |
Competences describe what each design is built to practise. They are not measured results or certificates. Wearing a VR headset is not the same as developing digital competence, so DigComp appears only where a design is about digital skills.
Using the frameworks in Erasmus+ proposals
The Erasmus+ Programme Guide 2026 asks for several things that the frameworks make easier to write:
- Its digital transformation priority covers digital skills and the "purposeful use of emerging digital technologies and innovation, including AI".
- For cooperation partnerships, the award criteria look at "qualitative and quantitative indicators" and, where there are learning activities, at the recognition and validation of participants' learning outcomes "in line with European transparency and recognition tools and principles".
- Capacity building in vocational education and training names DigComp, EntreComp, LifeComp and GreenComp explicitly.
What we contribute: a competence mapping for each digital result, scenarios that practise those outcomes, and accessible outputs, openly licensed where the grant requires it. What we leave to you: the application itself. The Programme Guide advises applicants not to rely on external parties to draft it.
A practical pattern that partners can use:
- Needs. Run a short pre-survey, for example based on the Europass digital skills self-assessment.
- Learning outcomes. Select DigComp 3.0 learning outcomes for digital aims, and LifeComp, EntreComp or GreenComp competences for the others.
- Indicators. Set qualitative and quantitative indicators for each result, such as a self-reflection before and after.
- Recognition. Refer to the framework codes in certificates, Open Badges or European Digital Credentials.
- Quality and inclusion. Cite accessibility (DigComp 3.0 competence 5.2) and a WCAG target for digital results.
For adult learners specifically, see adult education and skills development. When you are ready, partner with us.
AI in learning, with judgement
DigComp 3.0 uses the AI Act's definition of an AI system and treats AI as one digital technology among many. Instead of a separate area, AI-related knowledge, skills and attitudes run through all 21 competences.
For school education, the European Commission and the OECD published an AI Literacy Framework in June 2026. For adult learners and staff, DigComp 3.0 is the closer fit.
In our own tools, the approach starts with the task, then the model, and a person stays in charge of decisions that affect learners. More in AI literacy and applied AI in learning.
Frequently asked questions
Is there an official DigComp certificate?
No. The JRC states that there is no official DigComp certification scheme. Several national and international schemes use DigComp as their reference. See DigComp questions and answers (JRC).
Which version of DigComp do you map to?
DigComp 3.0, the current version since November 2025. Many projects still use DigComp 2.2. DigComp 3.0 has four proficiency levels instead of eight, and the framework includes a table that relates the new levels to the old ones.
Is the mapping part of the original designs?
The cases on this page were designed from each client's own goal. The mapping was made afterwards, to show partners where the work fits. In a new EU project, the consortium can choose competences at the start, and we design scenarios that practise them.
Can learning in your simulations be recognised?
Yes, through the consortium's recognition arrangements: for example a certificate, an Open Badge or a European Digital Credential that refers to framework codes and is issued by an awarding organisation. A simulation on its own does not award a recognised certificate.
Can we reuse your mapping in our proposal?
Yes, as a starting point. Take the exact wording and level of each learning outcome from the JRC's own data files when you write your proposal. Questions about a mapping? Contact us.
Plan a consortium call
Tell us about the call you are preparing, your partners and your target groups, and we will plan a call with your consortium.