Sarita Blomqvist is a media professional and former producer with extensive experience in digital storytelling and cross-industry collaboration. With a background in content creation and large-scale productions, she facilitates discussions on digitalization and immersive technologies with clarity and insight. Today, she works with innovation ecosystems, focusing on emerging and immersive technologies.

Thomas Bithell is a Technology Analyst at IDTechEx, currently focusing on sustainability, advanced materials and XR. Before joining IDTechEx in 2024, Thomas graduated from the University of Oxford with an MChem in Chemistry and has taught Chemistry at King’s College School Wimbledon. He is based in London, UK.

Xavier Bonjour, Partnerships & Strategy Director at Engo Eyewear, is a seasoned expert in wearable electronics and a key architect of the “Light AR” market segment. Moving away from bulky headsets, Xavier champions sleek, “heads-up” smart eyewear designed for “Mission Critical Information on the move.” By prioritizing performance and style, Engo Eyewear is positioned as the leader in this specialized category, delivering essential data through lightweight, high-utility tech.

Frédéric Lecompte co-founded the animation and post-production studio BackLight in 2008. Coming from the video game industry, the BackLight team diversified into new digital applications: Augmented Reality in 2010 and Virtual Reality (VR) in 2014. This history reflects the studio’s positioning in the immersive sector: a pursuit of excellence in the production of its creations and an unparalleled mastery of immersive storytelling. Indeed, today BackLight boasts one of the most impressive VR portfolios in the world, with nearly 90 immersive experiences developed for brands, entertainment, and cultural clients, and more than 70 awards worldwide, including a Lion at the Venice Film Festival for Blanca Li’s Le Bal de Paris.

Eric is an alumnus of Arts et Métiers, having completed the very first Master’s degree program dedicated to virtual reality. Trained as a 2D/3D artist, he became passionate about VR in 2013 when he discovered the first Oculus headset. He was particularly attracted to this new medium because of its immersive capabilities and the challenge of a whole new way of storytelling. Building on his own research and experimentation, he joined BackLight in 2019, delighted to find a studio that shared his enthusiasm for free-roaming VR experiences. At BackLight, he is both an author and a creative technologist, inventing immersive experiences that combine storytelling, technology, and interactivity. His recent projects include La Magie Opéra, an immersive experience for the Opéra Garnier, and The Botermarkt 1675, an interactive historical reconstruction of a 17th-century market.

Dr. Mika Luimula works as a Head of Education and Research of The School of Software and Interactive Technologies for Turku University of Applied Sciences. He holds a PhD in Information Processing Sciences and an MSc in Mathematics. He also holds an Adjunct Professorship at the University of Turku, is a senior advisor to the board of Ade Ltd and a co-innovator of ProVerse Interactive Ltd. He is a management board member for Metaverse Finland Ecosystem. His research interests include dual-use solutions, metaverse, virtual reality, augmented reality, gamification, serious games, health informatics, ubiquitous computing, and location-aware systems. He has published around 170 scientific papers and his research group has won various awards in the abovementioned research areas.

Ville-Veikko Mattila is the Head of the Multimedia Technologies at Nokia Technologies. He has over 30 years of experience developing breakthrough multimedia technologies through research, driving international collaborative standardization, and successfully productizing innovations across various Nokia units. Since joining Nokia in 1994, Ville-Veikko has held several management positions in multimedia technology, digital health, artificial intelligence, and user interfaces and interaction. He received his doctoral degree from Tampere University (TAU) in 2001 and serves as Adjunct Professor in the Department of Signal Processing at TAU. Ville-Veikko has authored over 50 scientific journal and conference papers and holds more than 80 patents and patent applications. His research teams have been recognized with six Technology and Engineering Emmy awards. Ville-Veikko’s research and leadership have been featured in outlets such as MIT Technology Review, New Scientist, The Economist, and The New York Times. He actively contributes to industry forums and serves as chairman of the Metaverse Finland Ecosystem and board member of the Digital Defence Ecosystem in Finland. Ville-Veikko lives in Tampere with his wife and three children.