CityUHK’s virtual initiative seeks to act as a dynamic supplement to traditional teaching—enabling independent exploration, reflection and collaborative enquiry across five interactive spaces
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As universities worldwide explore how technology can reshape teaching and learning, the CLASSy World Project is preparing to launch a bold experiment in immersive education.
Launched in July 2026, CLASSy World is a metaverse initiative designed to enhance blended and team-based learning across disciplines. Rather than replicating lectures in digital form, the project creates interactive virtual environments where students can explore, reflect and collaborate before, during and after class.
At its current stage, CLASSy World includes five distinct but interconnected spaces—House of Europe, Italian House, Python, Sham Shui Po and CLASSyCAN—each developed by academic leads who reimagined how subject knowledge could be translated into immersive, navigable digital worlds.
House of Europe
For the team behind the House of Europe, the process began with clarity of purpose and first taking time to reflect on what they wanted to achieve, Professor Bert GEORGE and Professor Astrid HARTH explain.
“Laying a blueprint for something sustainable and relevant was key for us. We wanted something that combines social sciences and humanities.”
The result is a virtual residence structured around four thematic rooms: European Governance, European Economics, European Art and History, and the Room of Enlightenment. “The idea of a house was key, one place that integrates knowledge of Europe and helps students connect politics, economics, culture and history,” they note.
The top floor, the Room of Enlightenment, is designed not simply as a content hub but as a reflective space for students to take time to think, debate and discuss. The team sees the platform as both preparatory and expansive.
“For blended learning, the House of Europe offers an ideal channel for students to acquire key knowledge before the lectures,” they say.
Classroom sessions can then focus on “discussing key, contemporary challenges in Europe or in Europe-Asia affairs”. With plans to enable multiple avatars in the same space, the House also supports collaborative learning online, allowing students to work in teams within the virtual environment.
The Italian House, led by Professor Esterina NERVINO, takes a different but complementary approach. Inspired by the architectural heritage of Italy, particularly Venice, the space integrates arches and visual motifs associated with UNESCO World Heritage sites.
“The Italian House is a virtual space in the metaverse designed to showcase Italian language, culture and heritage within an immersive digital environment,” explains Nervino.
In developing the House, the team incorporated institutional videos licensed for educational use, as well as a short language course developed with the Chan Feng Men-ling Chan Shuk-lin Language Centre and supported by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Italian Government.
Cultural initiatives such as Fashion To Reconnect: A Tale of Two Style Capitals—linking sustainability, fashion and art between Italy and Hong Kong—are also embedded within the space. While academic staff curated the materials, technical specialists adapted and optimised them for the virtual environment.
Nervino sees the metaverse as removing practical barriers to international engagement. “The metaverse allows students to explore Italy’s language and culture remotely and conveniently, without the physical and financial constraints of travel,” she says. “The platform creates opportunities for international exchange … fostering dialogue and cross-cultural understanding in real time.”
In blended learning contexts, students can explore modules before attending in-person sessions, transforming classroom time into interactive discussion rather than one-way lectures.
While Europe and Italy highlight culture and governance, Python introduces digital literacy into the metaverse. Developed by Dr LI Ruozhu, the initiative offers two types of courses tailored especially for non-technical students.
One stream supports departmental courses, while the other is open to all students. Both use self-recorded tutorials and quizzes to build interdisciplinary skills for digital-age challenges.
For Li, the metaverse expands access and global engagement. “The metaverse transcends geographical boundaries, allowing students to access learning modules anytime, anywhere,” she says. It also enables shared learning across borders.
“Students from different countries can learn Python together in a shared virtual space, fostering cross-cultural dialogue and collaborative problem-solving on real-world data projects.”
In blended learning terms, the platform serves as a powerful bridge between online and face-to-face learning, enabling students to build foundational knowledge before class, focus on hands-on exercises during sessions and review materials afterwards.
Local history finds its place in the Sham Shui Po metaverse project, led by Professor Alfred Tat-Kei HO. The initiative reconstructs the development of Kowloon Tong from the 1930s to the 1950s and examines public housing policy in post-war Sham Shui Po.
“We developed the Sham Shui Po metaverse by designing and integrating a wide range of historical materials, including archival documents, old newspapers, maps, photographs, documentary footage, and clips of old TV advertisements,” he explains. By embedding these resources in a virtual space, “students can navigate content non-linearly and engage with historical urban development in a self-directed manner.”
Ho says the project can reach global audiences, letting users explore Hong Kong’s history in an immersive way while promoting cross-cultural understanding and broadening access to locally-rooted narratives.
Within blended learning, the platform complements lectures and extends inquiry beyond the classroom. It also “enhances team-based learning by providing a shared virtual environment where students can collaboratively investigate materials, discuss interpretations, and pursue independent inquiries,” says Ho. Feedback from students suggests that the immersive approach increases engagement and motivates further research.
CLASSyCAN
Language learning is represented by CLASSyCAN, developed by Professor Caesar LUN and Dr LEE Tsz Ming Tommy. Focused on introducing proper Cantonese pronunciation to Putonghua-speaking students, the project begins with Jyutping, the LSHK Cantonese Romanization Scheme.
“There are many videos which describe the phonological inventory of the language with vivid animation of the articulation process and remarks about the minute differences in pronunciation,” Lun explains. Daily examples and a practical MTR station scenario help students apply their knowledge, while each video includes assessment questions to reinforce understanding.
The use of avatars is central to the design. “The multimedia technology that includes using an avatar to teach the content instead of having a real teacher fits the virtual reality of the metaverse and enables learners to immerse into a cyber world of infinity,” Lun notes.
He believes the format can help to reduce anxiety and promote autonomy.
As a component of the CLASSy World, CLASSyCAN adopts a modular design that lets learners start from any module. “It is hoped that such a design takes into consideration individual differences in terms of ability and interest, and thereby would fit anyone who has access to the metaverse,” says Lee.
Crucially, the project operates in blended mode. After watching the videos in the metaverse, students join small tutorial sessions for live practice. “The evaluation of this blended mode was very satisfactory and so the project will go on with more content,” Lun notes.
Lee agrees that human interaction remains essential: “We see as crucial components for effective learning both the learner-oriented journey in the metaverse and the traditional, face-to-face human interaction in the real world.”
“We believe that learning can happen anywhere, and in any form, but should be led by learners' needs and interests,” Lee adds. “The metaverse thus serves as a new way that advances language learning beyond traditional classroom settings.”
Shared Vision
Across these diverse initiatives, a shared philosophy is evident. The metaverse is not positioned as a replacement for traditional teaching, but as a dynamic extension of it. By enabling independent exploration, reflective engagement and collaborative inquiry, CLASSy World seeks to make blended learning more cohesive and meaningful.
