The study, titled ‘Exploring the Metaverse: Perspectives from Students, Graduates’ quizzed 576 business school graduates and 545 current students from 94 different countries. It revealed that 12% of students considered how a business school uses the metaverse when deciding where to apply.
Some business schools have incorporated the metaverse into campus life, with virtual teaching taking place in some cases. This is alongside growth in the use of other cutting-edge technologies such as artificial intelligence in the classroom.
Carried out by the Association of MBAs and the Business Graduates Association between April and June 2023, the survey also revealed growth in use of the metaverse. In total, 18% of students reported that they had used the metaverse during their time at business school, with just 10% of graduates saying they’d used the technology during their studies.
More likely to have used the metaverse before, current students were therefore more likely to show they understood the technology than graduates.
In total, 84% of students agreed they understood the virtual world-based technology and 58% said they were confident they could describe it. By contrast, 77% of graduates claimed they knew what the metaverse was and 52% could describe it.
Ellen Buchan, insight, content, and PR manager at AMBA & BGA, said: “The survey reveals a significant and growing awareness of the metaverse, with students showing a high level of understanding.”
She added: “This knowledge gap [between students and graduates] highlights an opportunity for business schools to consider incorporating courses on the metaverse into their lifelong learning provision, addressing a potential gap in the market.”
As many as 345 of the students and graduates taking part identified as employers of business school graduates. Only 9% of employers said they had used the metaverse in their current roles. Those who had said it was primarily for virtual recruitment, virtual showrooms, or for training.
Despite this, around half of the students and employers surveyed said that they expected the metaverse to play a role in their careers over the next 10 years, with 40% of graduates agreeing. Key areas where respondents expected the metaverse to have an impact in the next five years were entertainment (43%) and facilitating social interactions (35%).
“Despite differing opinions between students and graduates on the potential influence of the metaverse on their careers, in a rapidly evolving technology driven world there is consensus on the importance of staying up to date with the latest technologies,” Buchan said.
“Business schools should recognise the potential opportunities this technology offers in terms of global connectivity and preparing students for a technology-driven future.”
As well as using it in a professional setting, 23% of employers and 15% of graduates taking part said they were likely to use the metaverse in their personal lives.
