Wharton School launches ‘Business in the Metaverse Economy’ course, becomes first Ivy League business school to launch a metaverse program

In General XR News

July 27, 2022 – The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania has recently announced the launch of its new ‘Business in the Metaverse Economy’ online program. Developed in collaboration with Prysm Group, an economic consulting firm specializing in emerging technologies, the six-week Wharton certificate program is designed for business and technology professionals seeking to learn about the technologies associated with the metaverse, as well as the economic and technological elements that will drive its development and how firms and creators can gain value through the metaverse in the years to come.

Program participants will learn through immersion activities, and will benefit from firsthand use of metaverse technology for an interactive learning experience. With the launch of the course, Wharton has become the first Ivy League business school in the US to launch a program dedicated to the topic of metaverse technology.

According to the school, in a survey conducted by McKinsey & Company, senior executives cite their top three concerns related to incorporating the metaverse into their company’s operations as:

1. Uncertain return on investment;
2. Inability to design a suitable business model; and
3. The lack of managerial capability to implement a related strategy into their business.

In response, Wharton Executive Education has designed its program to address such challenges.

“We designed this program for business professionals and executives from a range of backgrounds, including finance, management, and tech,” said the program’s academic director, Professor Kevin Werbach of the Wharton School. “The metaverse is a significant and broad phenomenon that is still poorly understood. We hope to equip business leaders, consultants, and entrepreneurs with an understanding of the impending opportunities the metaverse brings, as well as the practical knowledge to build solutions of value.”

With an overall goal of educating business leaders at their own pace on how metaverse technology can be applied to their own businesses, Wharton’s Business in the Metaverse Economy program includes industry case-study topics that range from how large, legacy enterprises can use metaverse technologies in both B2C and B2B settings to what tactics companies can employ to ensure customers engage with digital worlds safely and appropriately.

Guido Molinari, Managing Partner at Prysm Group, said: “Having spent the last five years providing economic consulting services to a broad range of Fortune 500 companies engaged in cutting-edge projects seeking to apply emerging technologies to their existing businesses, it is a pleasure to be a part of this program and to be able to share many of the frameworks and models that have contributed to the early successes of our clients.” He continues, “From folks interested in learning how the metaverse is going to be the new evolution of the mobile internet to those looking to develop their own solutions leveraging the unique opportunities the metaverse brings to engage with customers in novel ways, this program focuses on the business value this mix of emerging technologies is going to deliver to companies globally.”

With the support of Prysm Group, the Business in the Metaverse Economy program also includes guest speakers from Adobe, Animoca Brands, Hellenic Parliament, Magic Leap, R/GA, RLY Network, Second Life, Snap, the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, and Unity.

The Business in the Metaverse Economy program is now open for limited enrollment for its first cohort, which begins on September 12, 2022. To register or receive more information on the program, click here.

Image credit: Wharton School

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Sam Sprigg

Sam is the Founder and Managing Editor of Auganix. With a background in research and report writing, he has been covering XR industry news for the past seven years.