Meta to Open 10 Metaverse Campuses as Part of $150 Million Immersive Learning Project

Meta, the metaverse-focused societal media company, is helping universities get their ain virtual world campuses online. The institution volition beryllium opening 10 virtual campuses arsenic portion of its Immersive Learning project, which seeks to instrumentality acquisition to virtual world environments. In concern with Victoryxr, an Iowa-based virtual world acquisition startup, Meta volition put $150 cardinal successful this initiative.

Meta Getting Universities Into the Metaverse

One of the biggest applications of virtual world and metaverse exertion has to bash with acquisition and the anticipation of virtual world classes coming true. Meta, the societal media behemoth, is executing this idea, helping 10 universities to motorboat their metaverse-based campuses.

One of these is the University of Maryland Global Campus (UMGC), which is an online university. The much than 45,000 students of the assemblage volition present beryllium capable to conscionable successful a metaverse online to convene and stock their experiences.

Daniel Mintz, president of the section of accusation exertion astatine UMGC stated:

We’ve ne'er had a field before, and present we person our first. It has a duck pond.

As portion of this plan, the assemblage volition connection 5 courses successful the metaverse field that volition travel astatine nary further outgo erstwhile compared to non-immersive courses. However, the assemblage is constricted by the fig of headsets (required for the courses) it tin indebtedness to students.

Other institutions volition besides beryllium portion of this project: the University of Kansas School of Nursing, New Mexico State University, South Dakota State University, Florida A&M University, West Virginia University, Southwestern Oregon Community College, California State University, Dominguez Hills, and Alabama A&M University.

Meta’s Involvement

Meta is donating its Meta Quest headsets to these organizations for students to beryllium capable to beryllium included successful the courses. One of the objectives of Meta’s Immersive Learning task is to summation the entree of students to these technologies by partnering with organizations and universities. Part of the $150 cardinal concern Meta is making serves to present headsets successful concern with Victoryxr, the institution that is designing the metaverse campuses.

Meta has besides helped universities wage for the plan and operation of these spaces, which tin outgo $50k for a 5 to seven-building campus. Steve Grubbs, laminitis of Victoryxr, stated:

Education is an breathtaking usage lawsuit for the metaverse, and Meta Immersive Learning volition assistance creators astir the satellite summation skills for the metaverse and make immersive experiences for learners.

Meta’s pivot to virtual world has caused the institution to suffer money, arsenic its metaverse division, the Reality Labs unit, reported losses of $2.8 cardinal successful Q2 2022. The institution besides had its archetypal enslaved issuance successful August, selling $10 cardinal successful indebtedness to put successful metaverse products and different initiatives.

What bash you deliberation astir Meta’s engagement successful the motorboat of these campuses successful the metaverse? Tell america successful the comments conception below.