For more than two decades, virtual worlds have surged into public consciousness only to fade again, from the early excitement around Second Life to Mark Zuckerberg’s push for the Metaverse. Each wave promised a revolutionary digital frontier, yet the vision repeatedly fell short. In The Virtual Universe, Andreas Kaplan, a professor of digital transformation and pioneer in virtual world research, explains why the dream persists. He explores the business models, technologies, and ethical questions shaping the Metaverse and what it will take for it to move beyond hype and realize its potential. Drawing on fifteen years of higher education leadership as a dean, a rector, and a university president, Kaplan reflects on how the virtual universe could transform universities, redefine learning, and even challenge the role of human professors.

Q: As one of the leading voices shaping the global conversation on artificial intelligence, social media, and virtual worlds, what inspired you to write this book at this particular moment? Was there a specific gap in the debate you felt uniquely positioned to address?

Andreas Kaplan: I never expected to return to researching virtual worlds. As a PhD student, I was captivated when Second Life dominated headlines and promised a virtual future. I launched several projects, only to see the hype collapse before my research was published. As a young professor seeking tenure, the timing was painful.

Ironically, the setback proved to be a blessing. It led to a paper that became the most downloaded article in Elsevier’s ScienceDirect database. Still, the experience left its mark, and I told myself I would not revisit the field. That changed when Mark Zuckerberg reignited global interest with large-scale investments in the Metaverse.

I realized that the debate lacked a holistic perspective. Discussions often focused either on technology or on speculation. I wanted to bring together business models, history, ethics, and technological foundations, while also examining applications in human resources, marketing, supply chains, healthcare, sustainability, and education. I also felt it was time to offer a clear and memorable definition of the Metaverse: an immersive, independent, and interconnected virtual social universe.

The hype may have faded again by the time this book appears. With two decades of perspective, however, I take it with humor and remain convinced that the era of the virtual universe will arrive sooner or later.

Q: Drawing on your experience as a professor, digital transformation scholar, and university president, you bring a comprehensive perspective to the future of higher education. How do you see immersive virtual environments fundamentally reshaping teaching and learning in the years ahead?

Kaplan: Immersive environments have the potential to enrich higher education on multiple levels. First, they transform the learning experience itself. Attending a class in a shared virtual space is far more engaging than simply participating in a Zoom lecture. Presence, spatial interaction, and embodied avatars foster community, spontaneity, and active participation. Students can gather in virtual lecture halls, form breakout groups, and collaborate around virtual objects, making remote education feel less isolating and more dynamic.

Second, immersive technologies expand both what can be taught and how it is taught. Instead of relying solely on slides, educators can recreate complex real-world contexts. In supply chain management, students might be immersed in a global logistics network and required to respond to port closures, supplier failures, or sudden demand spikes, adjusting routes and inventories in real time. A finance class could simulate a trading floor to illustrate market dynamics as they unfold. Entrepreneurship students might explore virtual replicas of innovation ecosystems in Hamburg, Lisbon, or Paris, moving between start-ups without leaving home. Such environments make abstract concepts tangible and experiential, deepening understanding and retention.

Q: From your vantage point at the forefront of academic innovation, which universities are setting meaningful benchmarks in integrating virtual worlds or virtual reality into their core operations? What distinguishes genuine transformation from mere experimentation?

Kaplan: In the United States, Arizona State University can certainly be considered a strong example of moving beyond pilot projects. ASU has integrated immersive VR experiences directly into credit-bearing courses, embedding virtual environments within a broader institutional strategy rather than treating them as standalone experiments.

In Europe, INSEAD is a long-standing pioneer in virtual worlds, and IE University stands out for strategically incorporating immersive technologies into its academic portfolio. It has launched programs dedicated to the Metaverse and other emerging technologies, with several courses delivered directly in virtual environments. As the president of Kühne Logistics University (KLU), I can also say that we are actively integrating immersive environments into our teaching, positioning ourselves as a forward-looking and committed participant in this space.

The distinction between genuine transformation and experimentation lies in scale and governance. Transformation occurs when immersive technologies are embedded in core curricula, supported by faculty development, aligned with measurable learning outcomes, and sustained through institutional investment and policy. Experimentation, by contrast, remains confined to isolated initiatives without strategic integration or demonstrable impact.

Q: In your work, you raise the possibility that AI-driven avatars could one day assume many functions traditionally performed by professors. Do you see this as a realistic scenario, or more as a provocative thought experiment?

Kaplan: I see this as both realistic and deliberately provocative. In certain areas, AI-driven avatars taking over instructional tasks is entirely plausible. Adaptive learning systems already personalize education by analyzing performance and addressing individual weaknesses. It is easy to imagine immersive environments in which intelligent avatars explain concepts, pose questions, and adjust content in real time to each learner’s needs.

At the same time, I raise this scenario to provoke reflection. Higher education cannot ignore the broader forces of digital transformation, which may profoundly reshape, if not disrupt, established models. Universities must reconsider what uniquely human value they provide.

We should neither assume that students will always prefer human professors nor that they will automatically favor machines in virtual environments. Even in the era of streaming, audiences still pay premium prices to experience live performances by entertainers such as Taylor Swift or Britney Spears. Education may be similar, at least when it comes to charismatic, star-like professors.

Most likely, AI will not replace professors entirely but redefine their roles, shifting routine instruction to machines while humans focus on mentorship, critical inquiry, and meaningful engagement, which may, whether we like it or not, increasingly require an expanding element of entertainment.

Q: As a higher education futurist and visionary, how do you envision universities evolving over the next decade in relation to the Metaverse and immersive virtual environments?

Kaplan: I hesitate to predict what will happen “in ten years.” In the technology sector, the ten-year horizon has become almost ritualistic; breakthroughs are perpetually just around the corner. Mark Zuckerberg, for instance, suggested that the Metaverse could reach a billion users within a decade, a projection that already appears ambitious.

Nevertheless, immersive environments are likely to reshape universities in significant ways. One critical area is the credible certification of soft skills. In the AI era, institutions must demonstrate that graduates developed adaptability, resilience, and the ability to navigate uncertainty. Such competencies cannot be credibly assessed through surveys alone; they require observable behavior under pressure.

AI-enabled virtual environments can simulate ambiguity, setbacks, and escalating complexity, allowing students to demonstrate how they respond to failure, adjust strategies, and improve over time. This kind of performance-based evidence offers a far more robust foundation for certification.

This is only one further illustration. Virtual environments will affect not only universities but also the broader organizational and societal landscape. As I have said before, sooner or later, the virtual universe will arrive.