Meta, Facebook's parent company, and Simplon, a digital skills training school, have announced that they will launch a " academy of metavers" in France in the fall of 2022, according to a joint statement released by the two companies on Sunday.
The «metaverse » («metaverse » in English) is a digitally immersive universe aimed at extending physical reality through enhanced or virtual reality and transforming the web from 2D to 3D. It is regarded as the next big technological leap in the evolution of the internet by the digital behemoths
a project-based education
This future school will be "free, territorial, innovative, and focused on employability," according to Laurent Solly, vice-president of Meta Europe's South. « Our goal is to train a hundred students in two "metavers" professions in their first year. The first is a developer who specializes in immersive technology, and the second is a support/assistance technician, » he added.
La pédagogie » ne sera pas axée en soi sur the use of "métavers," as this is something that is still a bit skewed. According to Frédéric Bardeau, co-founder and president of Simplon, "On will be interested only in 3D and interactivity with the universe; it will be a pedagogy through presentiel projects."
20 students were trained as part of a promotion.
This "metavers academy," which has locations in Paris, Lyon, Marseille, and Nice, aims to educate 20 students per city and promotion, with a focus on diversity and women's rights. Laurent Solly explained, "We're looking for people from all walks of life, and our goal is to have 30% of women in this first promotion."
« On assumes the side of "positive discrimination" and "diversity," but does not look at resumes, » says Frédéric Bardeau. Meta said in October 2021 that it would create 10,000 jobs in Europe over the next five years to build the "metavers," the company's new strategic priority. An aspiration that should allow businesses to meet future demand for skills and trades related to "metals." « Eighty percent of 2030's jobs are yet to be invented, so it's now or never », the two partners emphasized once more.