Meta, formerly Facebook, said Wednesday it has launched a joint research center with Seoul National University to study extended reality (XR) technology and metaverse policies.

The new facility, called XR Hub Korea, is part of Meta’s ”XR Program Research“ which kicked off last year as a collaborative research project with prestigious institutions worldwide. SNU has been participating from the beginning, the company said.

The center will help form networks among scholars, and host research presentations, conferences, and innovation contests for startups and developers, according to the tech firm.

An XR experience center is also set to be built within the SNU Central Library, where students can get first-hand experience of the different research activities that the center is hosting.

XR Hub Korea will cover Meta’s XR research activities in the entire Asia Pacific region.

“I am even more excited about this collaboration as the Korean government’s active support and the industry’s high participation is allowing Korea to apply its technology to diverse areas and to prove its possibility to the world,” said Vice President of Meta Vishal Shah.

The center’s inauguration ceremony, which was initially scheduled to be held publicly at SNU’s faculty club, kicked off behind closed doors.

Organizers of the event explained that the ceremony was made private after SNU’s Artificial Intelligence research team, led by Professor Yoon Sung-roh, made headlines for plagiarism.

By Lee Seung-ku (seungku99@heraldcorp.com)