Business schools explore teaching in the metaverse

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by Lindsey Francy Nov 29, 2022 News
Business schools explore teaching in the metaverse

Neoma’s virtual campus
Neoma students are represented by 3D avatars in the online world © Neoma

The lecture hall at the school can seat hundreds of students and can be used for lessons on digital transformation. There is a glimpse of a future for business education in the virtual world.

His employer, Neoma Business School in France, is one of many forward- thinking European institutions that are stepping into the metaverse. It has the potential to make learning more interactive and also the commercial opportunities. McKinsey predicts the metaverse will generate up to $5tn in value.

Business schools need to be at the forefront of educating future managers about the metaverse. The world of tomorrow will be shaped by it.

Business schools do not agree on an exact definition of the metaverse. They don't know how it will work in practice.

Students at Neoma are in a virtual campus. Virtual reality case studies allow students to apply theory in practice. The power of the role-play and simulation is enhanced by immersion. It is amazing to see how much it is affecting the classroom.

Alain Goudey of Neoma
Professor Alain Goudey of Neoma

He says Neoma wants to make the virtual campus better for remote participants.

The potential of the metaverse has been thrust into the public consciousness in the past year by technology companies such as Meta. Tech giants are collaborating with business schools to improve the educational experience.

The International Flex Executive MBA participants will learn about potential business opportunities in the metaverse when they attend a seminar with Microsoft.

Fadpro, an edtech start-up part-owned by the school, is going to give EMBA participants the chance to try out virtual reality headsets. Virtual trips will allow students to gain first-hand business experience without having to travel to the location.

The metaverse can be used to teach soft skills such as leadership and teamwork. It can make it easier for students to pick up on gestures and posture. Frattini believes that replicating a physical environment through technology can improve learning outcomes.

The coronaviruses have pushed business schools into the virtual world.

According to Barbara Stttinger, dean of the WU Executive Academy in Vienna, there has been a hesitancy to adopt new technology for fear of it not being good enough. The Pandemic has made us think. It has shown us how fast we can change.

Management students attend a presentation on Neoma Business School’s virtual lecture theatre © Neoma

The Professional Master of Sustainability, Entrepreneurship and Technology is a partnership between the school and Tomorrow's Education. Stttinger thinks about the next generation who will grow up in the metaverse. We need to be there eventually. We will be future-proof thanks to this investment.

The pandemic has shown us the possibilities and the speed with which we can innovate

Barbara Stöttinger

The metaverse is seen as a platform to create business opportunities by institutions.

Students on the International Business 4.0 programme at the Essca School of Management in France use Second Life to observe how other people behave. The students create a virtual prototype of a luxury brand in the metaverse by identifying a potential commercial opportunity.

Orsolya Sadik-Rozsnyai, head of the Essca online campus, said that luxury houses are exploring business opportunities around virtual goods and non-fungible token.

She says the challenge is avoiding using technology for technology's sake. She believes that the metaverse could be the next iteration of the internet.

David Lefevre, professor of practice in digital innovation at London's Imperial College Business School, says that business schools are still a long way from realizing their full potential. He says that the metaverse is more of an aspiration at the moment.

Ensuring interoperability is one of the key challenges. It's a concern that high energy consumption is a problem. The resources required to operate the virtual environment, whether in the cloud or locally, are considerable.

Neoma’s virtual campus
Prof Goudey and colleagues meet in avatar form

The director of the edtech lab raises more doubts. She pointed out that virtual reality can be expensive and can cause motion sickness. She says that training would be required in order to deliver the classes.

Data privacy and protection concerns are barriers to business education. Tunstall doesn't think it will replace traditional teaching methods. The metaverse is meant to improve.