University Of Tokyo To Provide Metaverse Studies To Prepare Students For Future
By Mikelle Leow, 26 Jul 2022
As the tech world finds its feet in Web3, it’s becoming crucial to acclimatize the public to what has been touted as the future. As we speak, tech giants have joined forces to set standards for the growing metaverse, and educational services have begun to teach learners about all the possibilities this virtual world could bring.
The University of Tokyo is now recognizing the metaverse as a platform for the future. As reported by the Asahi Shimbun, the university is rolling out a host of metaverse-related courses this school year.
Aptly, the programs will be taught in a virtual environment, with lessons for students ranging from high schoolers to adults who already have jobs. The university, also known as Todai, says that the courses won’t be available through its direct faculty but via its engineering and engineering-related graduate schools.
With the virtual metaverse courses, Todai hopes to familiarize learners of all ages, genders, “social standing,” and area of residence with the fundamentals of engineering and information science. There will also be a strong emphasis to welcome women to the programs so as to counter the lack of representation in STEM fields.
Notably, the university envisions the new category of courses to overcome digital illiteracy in the workforce.
The curriculum being taught will depend on the student’s age and skill set. Junior-high and high-school students, for instance, will be shown an introductory snapshot of the metaverse via online and face-to-face sessions, as well as learn how to get into engineering and science careers.
Tertiary students and working professionals, on the other hand, will participate in fully-online courses surrounding artificial intelligence, next-generation communications, and entrepreneurship that are designed to help them re-skill or upskill.
Since the university’s metaverse studies will take place in the metaverse, it will also open up its virtual world to students from other universities, presenting a gateway to find careers in engineering.
[via Cointelegraph and Asahi Shimbun, cover illustration 244215812