On October 18, 2023, a significant event took place in Luxembourg as the Centre of Excellence Jean Monnet EPPO-A New Frontier in Integration (EPPONFI), also known as STEPPO, from the University of Milano-Bicocca, received an official invitation from the European Public Prosecutor's Office in Luxembourg. The invitation was extended to present their VR Game project, which had been launched the previous April during the "Eppo and the Rule of Law" conference.
The Centre of Excellence stands as the sole institution in Europe dedicated to this subject, operating in an interdisciplinary manner, involving the School of Law, the School of Psychology, and the School of Economics.
At the event, key figures from the Centre of Excellence including Associate Professor and Centre Director Benedetta Ubertazzi, Dr. Fabrizia Bemer and Associate Professor Dr. Alberto Gallace, who also serves as the Director of the Metaverse Laboratory, along with law students Veronica Carbone, Iman Khodri, and PhD candidate Luca Pieri, introduced the VR Game project to the assembly of prosecutors. This presentation was followed by a question-and-answer session, where prominent figures such as European Chief Prosecutor Laura Codruța Kövesi, Deputy European Chief Prosecutor Petr Klement, former Deputy European Chief Prosecutor Danilo Ceccarelli, and Italian prosecutor Andrea Venegoni praised the accomplishments of the Centre of Excellence. They emphasized the significance of its existence and expressed hope that more universities would follow the distinguished example set by the University of Milano-Bicocca.
Following the morning session, a subsequent meeting took place at 10:00 between the EPPO team, notably featuring Prosecutor Anita Jelas, Prosecutor Sapfo Katsanaki, Dr. Filip Siroky, Dr. Josè Maria Del Águila Gómez, Dr. Roberto Bianchin, Dr. Gabriele Kathrin Launhardt, and Dr. Andrea Nicola Ragni, and the team from the Centre of Excellence. During this meeting, additional insights into the prototype of the VR Serious Game, designed for students, as well as the more advanced VR Serious Game tailored for professionals, were presented, and feedback was gathered.
For the remainder of the day, the two teams collaborated on exploring how EPPONFI and EPPO could mutually benefit and support each other in the forthcoming months.
Special recognition and gratitude were extended to the entire team for their outstanding contributions, including the five actors involved in the VR Game: Veronica Carbone, Estella Gambara, Iman Khodri, Paolo Maiolino, and Alessio Vergnano. Additionally, appreciation was expressed to the entire editorial team, which included Antonio Fortarezza (Chair of the Editorial Committee), Giulia Varisco (Vice Chair of the Editorial Committee), Carlotta Eleni, Dima Eleni, Alessandro Fumagalli, Nidhi Mehra, Cesare Montagna, and Alessia Redaelli, for their dedicated efforts in making this meeting possible.
