Natixis immerses itself in virtual training

Natixis, a subsidiary of the Banque populaire Caisse d’épargne (BPCE) group, is investing a few hundred thousand euros in virtual reality to provide immersive training (immersive learning, in English). The company is also the founder – with the National Conservatory of Arts and Crafts (Cnam), Orange or the University of Paris-Est-Créteil-Val-de-Marne (UPEC) – of the France Immersive Learning association, created in 2018 and dedicated to immersive technologies in the fields of orientation, education and training. Some 150 organizations are members.

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The BPCE group is thus guided by its subsidiary. “Since mid-2022, 5,000 BPCE Group employees have notably undergone mandatory training on the safety instructions applicable in their new premises. This operation allowed a first large-scale experimentation of virtual reality by the employees. Other training courses are also being studied thanks to the creation of a dedicated “VR Lab”, explains Pascal Aubert, head of digital learning at Natixis.

“Mainly European and French equipment”

If this virtual training first concerns fire safety and sanitary rules for professional use, the banking group is also studying all the possibilities offered by these immersion technologies. “Our group has completed the acquisition of equipment, licenses and has set up a budget for the realization of projects. The equipment and services are mainly European and French,” he says.

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France Immersive Learning provides the Case application and the coaching material (screen feedback for the animator of eight headsets simultaneously); the French company Emissive carries out the main tailor-made projects; the British Mocap Studio records the character captures (actors play the role of avatars then rendered in 3D in VR); the Finnish Glue and the Irish Engage provide complementary metaverse solutions. As for the headsets, they come from the Taiwanese HTC “pending the availability of those from the French Lynx”.

Article modified on March 20 at 12 p.m. The co-founder of the France immersive learning Association is the National Conservatory of Arts and Crafts (CNAM) and not the National Health Insurance Fund (CNAM)

Charles de Laubier