Student hosts real estate meet in Metaverse

Jamil Khan, Senior Reporter

A student from the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computing at Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) Dubai is preparing to launch the first edition of a one-of-a-kind real estate summit in the metaverse.

Senior Computing Security major, Volston Abreo, is convening Real Estate Worldscape 2023, to support education and knowledge sharing in the sector, and to help shape the future property market in Dubai.

The event will be staged via a hyper-realistic virtual “stage” featuring communication through voice chat and proximity chat systems.

The platform has been developed by Volston and his team with funding from RIT Dubai, in collaboration with the Mohammed Bin Rashid Smart Learning Program (MBRLP).

Aimed at those who are involved or interested in Dubai’s real estate market, Real Estate Worldscape 2023 will bring later this month together globally renowned thinkers, policy makers, developers and decision makers to support the advancement of the sector in the city.

Delegates will have the opportunity to hear from over 20 inspirational speakers through workshops, panel discussions, and Q&A sessions, exploring topics related to real estate, proptech, investing and entrepreneurship.

The metaverse conference will also offer delegates an opportunity to take part in a unique, virtual simulation, to learn how to buy properties at the right time and to spot emerging opportunities by understanding market behaviour and economic trends.

With over 550 properties to invest in, the simulation helps participants to think like an informed real estate investor and build wealth in the Dubai marketplace.

Explaining the background and the thinking behind the summit, 21-year-old Volston said, “The inspiration for our virtual stage, Flege, came during the pandemic, when we saw the potential of the metaverse in creating an ecosystem where people connect to physical experiences through the virtual world. I decided to focus on the real estate sector to help launch the ecosystem because it is one of the most established industries here, and yet it has been slow in the uptake of innovation. I wanted to change the mindset of people in the business, to show the value of bringing technology into the sector.” Ensuring accessibility and ease of joining the summit, all delegates will need is a laptop and reliable WiFi connection.”