Nanjing University Sets Up One of the First Metaverse Majors in China

Nanjing University in China has reportedly launched one of the first majors in the country dedicated to the study of metaverse-related knowledge. The university, located in eastern China, stated that this new push is directed to impart new metaverse-related courses that will help more students to fulfill the needs of metaverse companies.

More universities and educational institutions are including the metaverse as an element in their courses worldwide. This time the university of Nanjing, located in the east of China, will launch one of the first metaverse majors in the country in its latest metaverse push.

The Nanjing University of Information Science & Technology is renaming one of its main departments, the Information Engineering Department, to the “Metaverse Engineering Department,” with the objective of integrating more metaverse-related courses into the university. According to sources, this might be the first department that includes the word “metaverse” in China.

Pan Zhigeng, dean of the renamed department, stated this move will contribute to the integration of the institution with metaverse-related enterprises, in order to identify the needs of these groups and train more talent to fill their rosters.

Zhigeng also stated that students would be more qualified to serve in three different areas including smart healthcare, smart education, and digital tourism. To advance the university in these areas, the department will establish three different working groups: the metaverse research institute, the smart meteorological research institute, and the smart medical research institute.

Other universities are also using the metaverse as a tool to facilitate the relations and integration of students. In July, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology announced the construction of an online metaverse campus called Metahkust, that would allow remote students to attend classes together as if they were in the same venue. This would yield better results than using 2D video apps (like Zoom) for the same approach, according to university personnel.

Also in July, the University of Tokyo also announced it would offer metaverse engineering courses later this year.

Earlier this month, Meta also reported its participation in the creation of 10 online metaverse campuses, in partnership with a metaverse construction company named Victoryxr. This is part of the Immersive Learning project, a $150 million initiative that seeks to introduce the metaverse in educational environments.

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