Later this year, the University of Tokyo popularly known as Todai plans to launch a number of educational programs on the Metaverse.

Students from high school and working adults will be able to enroll in the courses. They will be offered opportunities to reskill/upskill via related online courses focused on artificial intelligence (AI), next-gen communication tech, and entrepreneurial education.

The delivery of the Metaverse study programs won’t be handled by a separate dedicated faculty that grants degrees; rather, Todai’s department of engineering and graduate programs in engineering-related fields will be in charge. Certificates will be given to students who finish the courses.

Todai’s program was introduced to address the shortage of qualified workers in the field of new technologies and digital transformation.

A further point made by university officials was that learning engineering and information science in the Metaverse will enable anyone, regardless of their age, gender, socioeconomic status, or place of residence, to do so.

Students in junior high and high school will be given an overview of the topic and instructed on possible career paths in engineering, science, and other related fields. They will learn the material through a combination of online and in-person lessons.

Furthermore, there will also be a push to attract more women to study the programs as the lack of female representation in engineering has been identified as an issue.

Todai has already ventured into the metaverse with Teruo Fujii, the university president, who has an engineering background, giving a lecture in January and an online orientation for incoming students held in spring.