Meta creates digital ‘metaversities’ in EU and UK schools

Some students in the EU and UK will soon have classes in the metaverse. 

Meta, the company behind social media platforms Facebook and Instagram, announced on Monday the launch of the first digital twin “metaversities” in Europe, where students can “explore, socialise, and participate in live classes remotely” in a setting that looks just like their physical campus. 

The UK’s University of Leeds started holding metaverse classes in performance and theatre this September. 

By February 2025, Spain’s University of the Basque Country will host physiotherapy and anatomy classes in the metaverse.

In Hannover, Germany, several schools will start immersive classes by the beginning of the 2025 school year. 

VictoryXR, Meta’s virtual reality partner, describes digital twin metaversities as “digital replications of campuses, colleges and universities”. So far, VictoryXR said they’ve worked with over 130 campuses to create digital versions of them. 

Normally, the VR models include campus grounds, building exteriors, mega structures, dorms, and sports venues, the company’s website says. 

During class, students can work on projects hands-on through their headset or PC, something the company says “is generally impossible” through Zoom or regular video calling. 

Field trips, simulations and chemistry experiments can be done by a professor directly with their group of students or through “asynchronous assignments,” the company said.

Meta said in a statement these digital twin universities “represent a significant leap forward” in education technology. 

The company also announced it is providing new VR headsets to educators at over a dozen US and UK universities. 

The goal of the programme is to “make it easier for educators to discover interactive and engaging content,” in science, medicine, history and language arts, the company said in a blog post.

In the UK, the University of Leeds and Imperial College London will be working with Meta on this programme.