By Betty Vandenbosch, Chief Content Officer, Coursera
More than 70% of consumers surveyed in the US, UK, and China had heard of the metaverse as of early 2022, compared to just 32% in July 2021. Despite that increased awareness and the metaverse’s long-term potential to create jobs, consumers remain largely uncertain about what this emerging technology is, who will build it, and how it will impact their lives.
To help people around the world better understand the metaverse, we’re excited to announce What is the Metaverse?, a new course from Meta available for free exclusively on Coursera. Created by experts from organizations across the forefront of the metaverse, the course is designed to help individuals as well as companies make sense of the metaverse and how they might participate in it.
Through expert-taught videos, readings, and assessments, learners will explore key components of the metaverse and its future uses, including the roles of emerging tech like XR and NFTs, how the metaverse will be applied to various industries, and ethical considerations when creating the metaverse itself. The course is designed to have broad appeal – there are no prerequisites – and may be particularly interesting for those looking to become metaverse creators and business leaders interested in understanding the opportunities the metaverse presents for their organizations. The course takes roughly 10-16 hours to complete. Learners can pre-enroll for free today to be notified when it officially launches later this month.
“We designed this curriculum with Coursera to help people understand the metaverse and the opportunities it will unlock,” said Marne Levine, Chief Business Officer at Meta. “Our vision for the metaverse is for it to be inclusive and built collaboratively. This course is one of the ways we hope to inspire and train more people, businesses and creators to get started in developing for the metaverse and shape the future.”
The new course builds on Meta and Coursera’s ongoing work to prepare learners for opportunities in emerging digital fields. Meta already offers seven entry-level certificates that teach the skills needed for in-demand career roles, including Marketing Analytics, Social Media Marketing, Database Engineering, Front-End Development, Back-End Development, iOS Development, and Android Development. Since launching, Meta’s entry-level certificates on Coursera have amassed more than 300,000 enrollments globally.
Throughout history, new technologies have often played a major role in forging entirely new economies. In collaboration with Meta, we’re dedicated to providing learners around the world with access to education that helps them understand our changing world, take advantage of emerging technologies, and participate in new economic opportunities.
Pre-enroll today for the free What is the Metaverse? course on Coursera.