The city of Barcelona will host the European Metaverse Research Network (EMRN) , the first research network in Europe specialized in the metaverse. The new body will be coordinated by the researcher from the Institute of Neurosciences of the University of Barcelona (UB), Mel Slater, and will be made up of research centers from seven countries that will study the benefits, risks and potential challenges of virtual worlds in collaboration with industry, civil society and public administrations.
So, Slater has explained that the new body will study the controversial aspects of this new technological paradigm, taking into account issues such as legal implications, social impact or economic bases. Efforts will also be made to facilitate the transfer of knowledge to the productive sector. As for the members of the European Metaverse Research Network, these are the University of Barcelona, the University of Alicante, the Dauphine University (France), the University of Applied Sciences Magdeburg-Stendal (Germany), the Polytechnic University of Milan (Italy), Renaissance Numérique (France), Research Institutes (Sweden), Organization for Applied Scientific Research (Netherlands) and Poznan University of Technology (Poland).