The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) has announced that it will host a virtual reality classroom launch party on Metaverse on September 1. The launch marks the beginning of HKUST’s plan to promote immersive learning by building a virtual campus on the Metaverse.
It will be called MetaHKUST. An academic from the HKUST institution told the South China Morning Post that the launch of the mixed reality classroom represents the opening of a new campus in Guangzhou, Hong Kong. Pan Hui, professor of computational media and arts at the Guangzhou campus, added:
“Many guests may be abroad and unable to attend [the opening], so we will host it on the metaverse.”
By establishing MetaHKUST, the institution plans to create a learning environment that virtually connects two campuses in Hong Kong and Guangzhou. HKUST hopes to help students circumvent geographic restrictions while attending classes by connecting campuses virtually.
While universities around the world are switching to services like Zoom to run online courses during the COVID-9 pandemic, Hui believes learning on the Metaverse is a better option for students because it encourages higher levels of interaction and adds:
“Thanks to virtual reality, you can feel like you are there. How you interact with Students around you will increase your learning outcomes.”
Despite the birth of technology, Wang Yang, Vice President of institutional advancement at HKUST, said the Metaverse is “here to stay.”
