The Universidad San Sebastián (USS) has embedded immersive virtual reality environments into the curriculum of its evening law programme (Derecho Vespertino), making it the first Chilean university to integrate metaverse-based learning systematically across an entire law degree. The project, known as Derecho USS en el Metaverso, spans 39 of the programme's 62 subjects and is built around a challenge-based learning methodology called RetUSS, in which students tackle real legal cases through progressively complex scenarios.
At the heart of the project are digital twins of real Chilean courtrooms, created by scanning the physical spaces. The centrepiece is a replica of the Tercera Sala de la Corte Suprema, Chile's most influential appellate courtroom, created after the project team obtained authorisation from the court's presiding judge, Sergio Muñoz. A second environment replicates the sala of the 1er Tribunal Oral en lo Penal de Santiago at the Centro de Justicia. In these environments, students assume roles as prosecutors or defence counsel and conduct simulated hearings with variable numbers of defendants tailored to each case scenario.
The VR experiences were developed by Minverso, a Chilean startup specialising in immersive training for industry, with one environment created with the participation of Meta. The university's primary page also credits Multivérsica as an additional technology partner. The project originated in a 2022 curricular redesign of the evening law programme and by mid-2024 had four immersive environments operational, with a target of ten completed by the second semester of 2025. As of June 2024, 261 students were actively using the system.
The multi-user VR format allows students to interact in real time within the courtroom scenarios, practising litigation skills across three key competency areas: juridical risk prevention and compliance, alternative dispute resolution including negotiation, mediation and arbitration, and adversarial litigation before courts. The university plans to expand the project to its daytime undergraduate programme and to its campuses in Concepción, Valdivia, and Puerto Montt. Additional environments under development include Family Courts and a Gesell chamber for taking statements from minors. The programme was accredited for six years by Chile's Agencia Acreditadora and Mexico's CONAED in 2022.
