Metaverse, Meta university, and the Future of Higher Education

The dramatic changes in the surrounding environment are constantly accelerating. Keeping pace with developments has become a challenging task and a difficult trial for the governance of academic systems. As an expanding virtual reality, the metaverse is creating tremendous changes in all social structures. On the one hand, it has provided unprecedented challenges for universities and higher education, and on the other hand, it has presented unique opportunities for their growth and excellence. The degree of success, in facing challenges and making maximum use of existing capabilities, depends on the way higher education administrators face and interact with this virtual reality. In this article, firstly the parallel generational changes among citizens and universities, and then the features of each are briefly explained. Then, by focusing on the upcoming developments of the university system, the concept of meta university as an emerging concept has been focused and the requirements related to the effective presence of universities in the metaverse have been explained. The following text serves as a starting point for the discussion regarding the virtual evolution of universities and its reading is recommended to higher education managers.