Metaverse makes learning fun and effortless, improves problem-solving, offers real-time feedback, and enhances the overall learning experience. With the metaverse, gamification comes to life more than ever, as users are not just playing a game; they are inside the game! As AR/VR technology continues to improve for education applications, colleges and universities are beginning to experiment with the "metaversity" concept to improve remote student engagement and provide more experiential learning opportunities. This article features the top 10 universities offering metaverse – related research, courses & more.
The University of Tokyo, also known as Todai is set to offer a range of study programs later this year that will take place in the Metaverse. The publication stated that the Metaverse study programs will not be delivered via its own dedicated faculty that offers degrees but will instead operate under Todai's faculty of engineering and engineering-related graduate schools. Students who complete the courses will receive certificates.
GDUT is a provincial university in Guangdong, China with a range of fields of study, including engineering, science, technology, management, liberal arts, and law, with a major emphasis on the study of engineering. The university's researchers have established it as a center for Metaverse study, including "Reliable Coded Distributed Computing for Metaverse Services: Coalition Formation and Incentive Mechanism Design" and "Optimal Targeted Advertising Strategy For Secure Wireless Edge Metaverse."
Tech Mahindra already has 10 Makers Labs across the world and the new unit at Mahindra University will be the 11th facility globally and second in Hyderabad. Tech Mahindra and Mahindra University have signed a memorandum of understanding to set up a new 'Makers Lab' for research and development in quantum computing, explainable artificial intelligence, and Metaverse.
Nanyang Technological University (NTU), a national research university based in Singapore, is one of the oldest universities in Singapore and is routinely placed among the world's top universities. It's continuing its leadership position in Metaverse studies. Recent research work from NTU includes serious technological investigations into the Metaverse, including "Reliable Coded Distributed Computing for Metaverse Services: Coalition Formation and Incentive Mechanism Design" and a look into business aspects of Web 3, such as "Optimal Targeted Advertising Strategy For Secure Wireless Edge Metaverse".
Stanford University launched its first class in virtual reality, using Facebook's Oculus Quest 2 headsets. It covers the expanding influence of VR in many different fields, including popular culture, engineering, behavioral science, and communication. The course is part of a study carried out by Stanford's Virtual Human Interaction Lab. The research is looking at how virtual technologies can be effectively used in educational settings.
Recently, researchers at KAIST have worked on projects that led to papers on the Metaverse, including surveys to help guide discussions on Web 3, including "When Creators Meet the Metaverse: A Survey on Computational Arts" and "All One Needs to Know about Metaverse: A Complete Survey on Technological Singularity, Virtual Ecosystem, and Research Agenda."
New Mexico State University is working with EON Reality, a leader in augmented and virtual reality-based knowledge and skills transfer, to bring the technology to classrooms across the NMSU system. The EON-XR platform will first be integrated into selected courses at NMSU's Doña Ana Community College and later expand to NMSU's main campus.
University College London — UCL — is the second-largest university in the United Kingdom by total enrolment and the largest by postgraduate enrollment. A member institution of the federal University of London, UCL is a UK leader in research. It hosts students and faculty interested in Metaverse scholarship. Some recent examples include the critique: "The Future of Trust will be Dystopian or Decentralized: Escaping the Metaverse" by Jean-Philippe Vergne, a UCL scientist who studies: "how socially contested organizations affect the birth and renewal of industries operating at the vanguard of capitalist economies."
University of Maryland Global Campus (UMGC), a pioneer of online education with a history of exploring innovative learning solutions, has partnered with VictoryXR, a global leader in creating learning environments through immersive technology, in a pilot program that will use virtual and augmented reality in classes in the fall term.
Sabancı University is a relatively young school, established near Istanbul in 1994. Its first students matriculated in 1999. Its youth may be one reason that this relatively small university has become a leader in nascent forms of technology, such as Web 3 tech. The university has produced 8 research papers on the Metaverse. One of those researchers is Elif Ayiter, who is a designer and a researcher. Ayiter is also the chief editor of the journal Metaverse Creativity with Intellect Journals.