China's first metaverse major was set up at a university in East China's Jiangsu Province. Photo: Sina Weibo

China's first metaverse major was set up at a university in East China's Jiangsu Province which sparked heated online discussions. Netizens are wondering about what courses will be offered and what kind of talents will be trained. 

A notice circulated online issued by Nanjing University of Information Science and Technology confirmed that the College of Artificial Intelligence at the university has decided to change the name of the major "information engineering" to "metaverse engineering." 

Metaverse is to describe a combination of the virtual and mixed reality world, media reported, adding that it is a virtual world where people can live and travel, which still takes a while to complete.

Given that metaverse is currently a frontier innovation field around the globe, several Chinese universities have already started to study it. The Renmin University of China established the country's first metauniverse research center in April, aiming to promote interdisciplinary academic exchanges and personnel training in the metaverse.