The University of Iowa’s Tippie College of Business announced it has expanded its presence into the metaverse with a new virtual space that is intended to prepare the college for the future of education and research. The virtual world features interiors and exteriors of the Pappajohn Business Building and exteriors of the Pomerantz Career Center, Iowa Memorial Union, the Main Library, the Pentacrest and the T. Anne Cleary Walkway.

Jim Chaffee, chief operations officer for the Tippie College, said people using virtual reality headsets will be able to get a full three-dimensional experience of the building and nearby parts of campus.

“They can come in and walk the halls, maybe sit in on a class, as if they’re right here with us,” Chaffee said in a prepared statement.

The college partnered with Davenport-based VictoryXR to build its digital twin.

The virtual space is currently being used in an MBA class about business technology and an undergraduate business analytics course about visualizing and communicating data.

“Technology is rapidly changing both business and education, so we need to offer the kind of educational and research resources that prepare our graduates to thrive in a business world where technology changes seemingly by the minute, and our scholars work at the cutting edge,” Amy Kristof-Brown, dean of the Tippie College, said.

The virtual campus can also be used to host virtual visits for prospective students from around the world.

Barrett Thomas, senior associate dean of the Tippie College, said the space adds to the ways the college is incorporating new technologies into teaching and research.

“We never know what the next groundbreaking technology will be, and this gives us the chance to experiment with virtual reality and develop new ways to use it most effectively,” Thomas said.