Hong Kong University to launch mixed reality classroom in metaverse

The university unveils its plans to integrate the metaverse technology into its classrooms

By Shashank Bhardwaj

Image: Shutterstock

The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) has announced that it will be launching a mixed reality classroom in the metaverse to promote immersive learning. The launch party for the same will be held on 1 September, for which Pan Hui, chair professor of computational media and arts at the Guangzhou campus, said that, “A lot of guests might be overseas and can’t attend [the opening], so we will host it in the metaverse.”

Given the rising popularity of the metaverse technology, MetaHKUST is a move to virtually integrate the two campuses of Hong Kong and Guangzhou to facilitate a better learning environment for students and help them overcome geographical constraints in the pursuit of education.

In the wake of the Covid-induced pandemic, many universities worldwide have made the move to online platforms such as Zoom to hold classes, but Hui believes that the Metaverse would help provide more opportunities for interaction between students. “Through virtual reality, you can feel as if you’re there. How you interact with students around you will increase your learning outcome.”

This move by the leading university shows that the metaverse is only looking to grow bigger from here, with the vice president for institutional advancement at HKUST claiming that, despite it being a new technology, it is “here to stay.”

Meanwhile, Singapore’s Second Minister for Law, Edwin Tong, also spoke about the Metaverse’s use in legal marriage proceedings, court cases, and government services. “It would not be unthinkable that, besides registration of marriages, other government services can soon be accessed online via the Metaverse,” he said. However, he acknowledges that this would not mean the complete abandonment of conventional in-person events, saying that “there can always be a hybrid element.”

Shashank is the founder at yMedia. He ventured into crypto in 2013 and is an ETH maximalist. Twitter: @bhardwajshash

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