First Business School to Build a Campus in the Virtual World
INSEAD, the leading international business school, today announced that it has established a campus on Second Life, the 3-D online digital world created and owned by its residents. INSEAD’s Second Life campus was designed to offer an innovative learning environment in which its participants from around the world can collaborate in real-time and learn from the diverse experiences of faculty and peers. The school plans to integrate Second Life into a range of programmes, including MBA, EMBA and Executive Education. “The Second Life campus underscores the value INSEAD places on entrepreneurialism,” said Miklos Sarvary, Director of The Centre for Learning Innovation at INSEAD. “Our presence there is a natural extension of our dedication to provide participants with the most current, real-time technological advancements and deliver top leadership development programmes, whether it takes place on a physical campus or online digital world.”
Students will be able to meet and interact on INSEAD’s Second Life campus simply by logging on to the virtual world. The campus will also host events for applicants or admitted students. Currently, INSEAD organises open days on its two campuses (Fontainebleau and Singapore) where future students are exposed to the school and the programme. These events will be held in the future on the new virtual campus.
A number of courses will be made available, including an upcoming MBA class on entrepreneurship in which participants will have the opportunity to develop a business plan and test it in Second Life. INSEAD has recently hosted lectures for MBA and EMBA students focused on the theme of virtual worlds.
“As an international business school with participants from around the world, INSEAD embraces innovative approaches to learning that will enable us to develop leaders who are prepared to operate in a constantly evolving global business environment,” said Antonio Fatas, Dean of the MBA Program at INSEAD. “We recognise the growing importance of the digital marketplace and want all of our participants to have the opportunity to experience it first-hand.”
In addition to the course offerings, INSEAD also plans to build a research centre and social science research lab on its virtual real estate.
About Second Life
Second Life is a 3-D virtual world entirely built and owned by its residents. Since opening to the public in 2003, it has grown explosively and today is inhabited by a total of 4,810,687 people from around the globe. http://secondlife.com/
