Take a sprinkling of math, add some statistical analysis, and coat with the advanced programming and analytics that enables people to pore through enormous batches of data and you have the recipe for a data scientist.
These professionals (and their data-based talents) are sought after in industries of all shapes and sizes. Every sector from healthcare, finance, and retail to communications and even the government can make use of the skills of data scientists to advance. That’s great news if you’re considering completing your Master’s degree in the subject, as your degree is the key that can unlock the door to a comfortable five-figure salary.
Here, we look at the Master’s in data science salary and explain what you can do to maximize your potential.
Masters in Data Science: An Overview
As a postgraduate degree course, a Masters in data science builds on some of the core skills you’ll learn in a computer science or information technology degree. Think of it as a specialization. You’ll expand on the programming and analytical skills you’ve already developed to learn how to extract actionable insights from massive datasets. In the world of Big Data (where companies generate more data than at any other point in history), those skills are more important than ever.
Speaking of skills, you’ll develop or hone the following when studying for your Master’s in data science:
- Data Analysis – The ability to analyze data (i.e., interpret what seemingly random datasets tell you) is one of the first skills you’ll pick up in your degree.
- Data Visualization – Where your analysis helps you to see what you’re looking at, data visualization is all about representing that data visually so that others see what you see.
- AI and Machine Learning – The nascent technologies involved in the artificial intelligence sector revolve around data, in addition to many modern AI technologies being helpful for analyzing data. You’ll learn both sides, developing the skills to both create and use AI.
- Software Engineering and Programming – Don’t assume the programming skills you have from your previous degree will go to waste, as you’ll need them for a data science Master’s. You’ll use plenty of new tools, in addition to picking up more skills in languages like Python, SQL, and R.
- Soft Skills – A Master’s in data science isn’t all technical. You’ll develop some soft skills that prove useful in the workplace, such as communication, basic teamwork, and management. Most data science courses also teach ethics so you can get to grips with the idea of doing the right thing with data.
The Top Universities for a Data Science Masters
According to the university rating website Collegedunia, there are more than 60 leading data sciences universities in the United States alone, each offering both Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in the subject. It ranks the following as the top five institutions for getting your Master’s in data science:
- MIT – As the top data science university in the world (according to the QS Global Rankings), MIT is the first choice for any prospective student.
- Harvard University – The “Harvard” name carries weight regardless of the course you choose. Data scientists have their pick of a standard Master’s in data science or a course dedicated to health data science.
- Columbia University – Those who want to fast-track their studies may find that the intensive one-year data science Master’s that Columbia offers is a better choice than traditional two-year courses.
- John Hopkins University – Though it’s best known as one of America’s best medical schools, John Hopkins also has a strong data science department. It may be a great choice for those who want to use their data science skills to get into the medical field.
- Northwestern University – Ranking at 30 in the QS Global Rankings, Northwestern offers Master’s degrees in both data science and analytics, with the latter expanding on one of the core skills needed for data science.
Masters in Data Science Salary Potential
As great as the skills you’ll get will be, you want to know more about the Master’s in data science salary you can expect to earn.
The good news is that a strong salary isn’t just possible. It’s likely. According to Indeed, the average salary for a data scientist is £49,749 in the UK. Cult.Honeypot has interesting figures for Europe as a whole, noting that the average data scientist on the continent earns €60,815, which matches up well to general salary expectations of €60,000. You can also expect a position in this field to come with numerous benefits, including medical insurance (where relevant) and flexible working conditions.
Of course, there are several factors that influence your specific earning power:
- Geographic location
- The specific industry in which you work
- Your experience level
- The size of the company for which you work
For example, a brand-new graduate who takes a position at a start-up in a non-tech industry may find that they earn at the lower end of the scale, though they’ll develop experience that could serve them well later on.
Data scientists also tend to have higher salary prospects than those in comparable fields. For example, more data from Indeed shows us that data scientists in the UK earn more, on average, than software engineers (£49,409), computer scientists (£45,245), and computer engineers (£24,780). Furthermore, a Master’s in data science is wide-ranging enough that it’ll give you many of the skills you need for the above industries, assuming you’d want a career change or discover that data science isn’t for you.
Benefits of a Masters in Data Science for Earning Power
It’s clear that the Master’s in data science salary potential is strong, with mid-five-figure salaries being the standard (rather than the exception) for the industry. But there are benefits beyond potential earnings that make the Master’s course a good one to take.
More Job Opportunities
Data science is everywhere in modern industry because every company produces data. You can apply your skills in industries like healthcare, manufacturing, and retail, meaning you have plenty of job opportunities. The research backs this statement up, too, with figures from Polaris Market Research suggesting a 27.6% compound annual growth rate (CAGR) for the data science industry between 2022 and 2030.
Greater Job Security
The encroachment of AI into almost every aspect of our lives has many people worried about job security. Some even speculate that machines will take over many roles in the coming years. Data scientists don’t have to worry about that. Not only will you use AI to advance your research, but you may also be responsible for further developments in the AI and machine learning fields. All of which will make you crucial to the continuation of the AI trend.
Opportunities for Career Advancement
The salary figure quoted above (average salary of €60,815) is for a fairly standard data science role. Opportunities for career advancement exist, whether that be simply moving into a more senior position in a company or taking control of a team, thus adding management to your skill set. Those who prefer conducting research will also find that many universities and large companies have teams dedicated to using data science to create social and commercial change.
Tips for Maximizing Earnings With a Masters in Data Science
With the Master’s in data science salary potential already being attractive enough (six figures is a great start), you may not worry too much about maximizing your earning potential at the start of your career. But as you get deeper into your working life, the following tips will help you get more money in return for the skills you bring to the table.
1 – Choose the Right University and Program
Universities aren’t built equally, with some carrying more weight than others. For example, a data science Master’s degree from MIT holds huge weight because it’s one of America’s top universities for the subject. Employers know what the school is about, understand that those who study there undergo superb training, and will thus be more willing to both hire and offer more money to its graduates. The point is that where you go (and what you study in your course) influences how employers see you, which also influences your earning potential.
2 – Gain Relevant Work Experience
As with any career path, what you learn along the path is as valuable as the skills you pick up when studying. You can get a head start on other data science graduates if you take on internships or get involved in research projects while studying, giving you some work experience to add to your resume that could lead to higher initial salary offers.
3 – Leverage Networking and Connections
Meeting the right people at the right times can do wonders for your career. Studying for a Master’s in data science exposes you to professors (and even people who work in the industry) who can put you in touch with people who offer roles in the industry. Continuous building on these connections, from staying active in the industry to leveraging social media, offers more opportunities for advancement.
4 – Stay Up-to-Date With Industry Trends
Data science is a fast-moving sector, with constant advancements occurring at both the high level (the evolution of AI) and in terms of how we use data science in different industries. Keeping on top of these advancements means you stay “in the know” and can see potential career paths branching out before you.
5 – Pursue Additional Qualifications
Keeping with the theme of staying up-to-date, how you build on your skills via continuing education can influence your salary potential. A Master’s degree in data science is impressive. But a degree supplemented by specialized certifications, proof of bootcamp completion, and any other accolades puts you ahead of the pack of other graduates.
Turn Your Master’s in Data Science Into a Great Career
In addition to opening you up to an exciting career in a field that’s undergoing tremendous growth, a Master’s in data science comes with mid-five-figure salary potential. You can boost your Master’s in data science salary expectations through networking, specialization, and simply staying up-to-date with what’s happening in the industry.
Granted, there are time and monetary commitments involved. You usually dedicate two years of your life to getting your degree (though some universities offer one-year data science Master’s courses) and you’ll pay a five-figure sum for your education. But the benefits on the backend of that commitment are so vast that a Master’s in data science may be the key to unlocking huge earnings in the data industry.
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From the same author
Read the articleDuring the Open Institute of Technology’s (OPIT’s) 2025 Graduation Day, we conducted interviews with many recent graduates to understand why they chose OPIT, how they felt about the course, and what advice they might give to others considering studying at OPIT.
Karina is an experienced FinTech professional who is an experienced integration manager, ERP specialist, and business analyst. She was interested in learning AI applications to expand her career possibilities, and she chose OPIT’s MSc in Applied Data Science & AI.
In the interview, Karina discussed why she chose OPIT over other courses of study, the main challenges she faced when completing the course while working full-time, and the kind of support she received from OPIT and other students.
Why Study at OPIT?
Karina explained that she was interested in enhancing her AI skills to take advantage of a major emerging technology in the FinTech field. She said that she was looking for a course that was affordable and that she could manage alongside her current demanding job. Karina noted that she did not have the luxury to take time off to become a full-time student.
She was principally looking at courses in the United States and the United Kingdom. She found that comprehensive courses were expensive, costing upwards of $50,000, and did not always offer flexible study options. Meanwhile, flexible courses that she could complete while working offered excellent individual modules, but didn’t always add up to a coherent whole. This was something that set OPIT apart.
Karina admits that she was initially skeptical when she encountered OPIT because, at the time, it was still very new. OPIT only started offering courses in September 2023, so 2025 was the first cohort of graduates.
Nevertheless, Karina was interested in OPIT’s affordable study options and the flexibility of fully remote learning and part-time options. She said that when she looked into the course, she realized that it aligned very closely with what she was looking for.
In particular, Karina noted that she was always wary of further study because of the level of mathematics required in most computer science courses. She appreciated that OPIT’s course focused on understanding the underlying core principles and the potential applications, rather than the fine programming and mathematical details. This made the course more applicable to her professional life.
OPIT’s MSc in Applied Data Science & AI
The course Karina took was OPIT’s MSc in Applied Data Science & AI. It is a three- to four-term course (13 weeks), which can take between one and two years to complete, depending on the pace you choose and whether you choose the 90 or 120 ECTS option. As well as part-time, there are also regular and fast-track options.
The course is fully online and completed in English, with an accessible tuition fee of €2,250 per term, which is €6,750 for the 90 ECTS course and €9,000 for the 120 ECTS course. Payment plans are available as are scholarships, and discounts are available if you pay the full amount upfront.
It matches foundational tech modules with business application modules to build a strong foundation. It then ends with a term-long research project culminating in a thesis. Internships with industry partners are encouraged and facilitated by OPIT, or professionals can work on projects within their own companies.
Entry requirements include a bachelor’s degree or equivalency in any field, including non-tech fields, and English proficiency to a B2 level.
Faculty members include Pierluigi Casale, a former Data Science and AI Innovation Officer for the European Parliament and Principal Data Scientist at TomTom; Paco Awissi, former VP at PSL Group and an instructor at McGill University; and Marzi Bakhshandeh, a Senior Product Manager at ING.
Challenges and Support
Karina shared that her biggest challenge while studying at OPIT was time management and juggling the heavy learning schedule with her hectic job. She admitted that when balancing the two, there were times when her social life suffered, but it was doable. The key to her success was organization, time management, and the support of the rest of the cohort.
According to Karina, the cohort WhatsApp group was often a lifeline that helped keep her focused and optimistic during challenging times. Sharing challenges with others in the same boat and seeing the example of her peers often helped.
The OPIT Cohort
OPIT has a wide and varied cohort with over 300 students studying remotely from 78 countries around the world. Around 80% of OPIT’s students are already working professionals who are currently employed at top companies in a variety of industries. This includes global tech firms such as Accenture, Cisco, and Broadcom, FinTech companies like UBS, PwC, Deloitte, and the First Bank of Nigeria, and innovative startups and enterprises like Dynatrace, Leonardo, and the Pharo Foundation.
Study Methods
This cohort meets in OPIT’s online classrooms, powered by the Canvas Learning Management System (LMS). One of the world’s leading teaching and learning software, it acts as a virtual hub for all of OPIT’s academic activities, including live lectures and discussion boards. OPIT also uses the same portal to conduct continuous assessments and prepare students before final exams.
If you want to collaborate with other students, there is a collaboration tab where you can set up workrooms, and also an official Slack platform. Students tend to use WhatsApp for other informal communications.
If students need additional support, they can book an appointment with the course coordinator through Canvas to get advice on managing their workload and balancing their commitments. Students also get access to experienced career advisor Mike McCulloch, who can provide expert guidance.
A Supportive Environment
These services and resources create a supportive environment for OPIT students, which Karina says helped her throughout her course of study. Karina suggests organization and leaning into help from the community are the best ways to succeed when studying with OPIT.
Read the articleIn April 2025, Professor Francesco Derchi from the Open Institute of Technology (OPIT) and Chair of OPIT’s Digital Business programs entered the online classroom to talk about the current state of the Metaverse and what companies can do to engage with this technological shift. As an expert in digital marketing, he is well-placed to talk about how brands can leverage the Metaverse to further company goals.
Current State of the Metaverse
Francesco started by exploring what the Metaverse is and the rocky history of its development. Although many associate the term Metaverse with Mark Zuckerberg’s 2021 announcement of Meta’s pivot toward a virtual immersive experience co-created by users, the concept actually existed long before. In his 1992 novel Snow Crash, author Neal Stephenson described a very similar concept, with people using avatars to seamlessly step out of the real world and into a highly connected virtual world.
Zuckerberg’s announcement was not even the start of real Metaverse-like experiences. Released in 2003, Second Life is a virtual world in which multiple users come together and engage through avatars. Participation in Second Life peaked at about one million active users in 2007. Similarly, Minecraft, released in 2011, is a virtual world where users can explore and build, and it offers multiplayer options.
What set Zuckerberg’s vision apart from these earlier iterations is that he imagined a much broader virtual world, with almost limitless creation and interaction possibilities. However, this proved much more difficult in practice.
Both Meta and Microsoft started investing significantly in the Metaverse at around the same time, with Microsoft completing its acquisition of Activision Blizzard – a gaming company that creates virtual world games such as World of Warcraft – in 2023 and working with Epic Games to bring Fortnite to their Xbox cloud gaming platform.
But limited adoption of new Metaverse technology saw both Meta and Microsoft announce major layoffs and cutbacks on their Metaverse investments.
Open Garden Metaverse
One of the major issues for the big Metaverse vision is that it requires an open-garden Metaverse. Matthew Ball defined this kind of Metaverse in his 2022 book:
“A massively scaled and interoperable network of real-time rendered 3D virtual worlds that can be experienced synchronously and persistently by an effectively unlimited number of users with an individual sense of presence, and with continuity of data, such as identity, history, entitlements, objects, communication, and payments.”
This vision requires an open Metaverse, a virtual world beyond any single company’s walled garden that allows interaction across platforms. With the current technology and state of the market, this is believed to be at least 10 years away.
With that in mind, Zuckerberg and Meta have pivoted away from expanding their Metaverse towards delivering devices such as AI glasses with augmented reality capabilities and virtual reality headsets.
Nevertheless, the Metaverse is still expanding today, but within walled garden contexts. Francesco pointed to Pokémon Go and Roblox as examples of Metaverse-esque words with enormous engagement and popularity.
Brands Engaging with the Metaverse: Nike Case Study
What does that mean for brands? Should they ignore the Metaverse until it becomes a more realistic proposition, or should they be establishing their Meta presence now?
Francesco used Nike’s successful approach to Meta engagement to show how brands can leverage the Metaverse today.
He pointed out that this was a strategic move from Nike to protect their brand. As a cultural phenomenon, people will naturally bring their affinity with Nike into the virtual space with them. If Nike doesn’t constantly monitor that presence, they can lose control of it. Rather than see this as a threat, Nike identified it as an opportunity. As people engage more online, their virtual appearance can become even more important than their physical appearance. Therefore, there is a space for Nike to occupy in this virtual world as a cultural icon.
Nike chose an ad hoc approach, going to users where they are and providing experiences within popular existing platforms.
As more than 1.5 million people play Fortnite every day, Nike started there, first selling a variety of virtual shoes that users can buy to kit out their avatars.
Roblox similarly has around 380 million monthly active users, so Nike entered the space and created NIKELAND, a purpose-built virtual area that offers a unique brand experience in the virtual world. For example, during NBA All-Star Week, LeBron James visited NIKELAND, where he coached and engaged with players. During the FIFA World Cup, NIKELAND let users claim two free soccer jerseys to show support for their favorite teams. According to statistics published at the end of 2023, in less than two years, NIKELAND had more than 34.9 million visitors, with over 13.4 billion hours of engagement and $185 million in NFT (non-fungible tokens or unique digital assets) sales.
Final Thoughts
Francesco concluded by discussing that while Nike has been successful in the Metaverse, this is not necessarily a success that will be simple for smaller brands to replicate. Nike was successful in the virtual world because they are a cultural phenomenon, and the Metaverse is a combination of technology and culture.
Therefore, brands today must decide how to engage with the current state of the Metaverse and prepare for its potential future expansion. Because existing Metaverses are walled gardens, brands also need to decide which Metaverses warrant investment or whether it is worth creating their own dedicated platforms. This all comes down to an appetite for risk.
Facing these types of challenges comes down to understanding the business potential of new technologies and making decisions based on risk and opportunity. OPIT’s BSc in Digital Business and MSc in Digital Business and Innovation help develop these skills, with Francesco also serving as program chair.
-
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Related posts
During the Open Institute of Technology’s (OPIT’s) 2025 Graduation Day, we conducted interviews with many recent graduates to understand why they chose OPIT, how they felt about the course, and what advice they might give to others considering studying at OPIT.
Karina is an experienced FinTech professional who is an experienced integration manager, ERP specialist, and business analyst. She was interested in learning AI applications to expand her career possibilities, and she chose OPIT’s MSc in Applied Data Science & AI.
In the interview, Karina discussed why she chose OPIT over other courses of study, the main challenges she faced when completing the course while working full-time, and the kind of support she received from OPIT and other students.
Why Study at OPIT?
Karina explained that she was interested in enhancing her AI skills to take advantage of a major emerging technology in the FinTech field. She said that she was looking for a course that was affordable and that she could manage alongside her current demanding job. Karina noted that she did not have the luxury to take time off to become a full-time student.
She was principally looking at courses in the United States and the United Kingdom. She found that comprehensive courses were expensive, costing upwards of $50,000, and did not always offer flexible study options. Meanwhile, flexible courses that she could complete while working offered excellent individual modules, but didn’t always add up to a coherent whole. This was something that set OPIT apart.
Karina admits that she was initially skeptical when she encountered OPIT because, at the time, it was still very new. OPIT only started offering courses in September 2023, so 2025 was the first cohort of graduates.
Nevertheless, Karina was interested in OPIT’s affordable study options and the flexibility of fully remote learning and part-time options. She said that when she looked into the course, she realized that it aligned very closely with what she was looking for.
In particular, Karina noted that she was always wary of further study because of the level of mathematics required in most computer science courses. She appreciated that OPIT’s course focused on understanding the underlying core principles and the potential applications, rather than the fine programming and mathematical details. This made the course more applicable to her professional life.
OPIT’s MSc in Applied Data Science & AI
The course Karina took was OPIT’s MSc in Applied Data Science & AI. It is a three- to four-term course (13 weeks), which can take between one and two years to complete, depending on the pace you choose and whether you choose the 90 or 120 ECTS option. As well as part-time, there are also regular and fast-track options.
The course is fully online and completed in English, with an accessible tuition fee of €2,250 per term, which is €6,750 for the 90 ECTS course and €9,000 for the 120 ECTS course. Payment plans are available as are scholarships, and discounts are available if you pay the full amount upfront.
It matches foundational tech modules with business application modules to build a strong foundation. It then ends with a term-long research project culminating in a thesis. Internships with industry partners are encouraged and facilitated by OPIT, or professionals can work on projects within their own companies.
Entry requirements include a bachelor’s degree or equivalency in any field, including non-tech fields, and English proficiency to a B2 level.
Faculty members include Pierluigi Casale, a former Data Science and AI Innovation Officer for the European Parliament and Principal Data Scientist at TomTom; Paco Awissi, former VP at PSL Group and an instructor at McGill University; and Marzi Bakhshandeh, a Senior Product Manager at ING.
Challenges and Support
Karina shared that her biggest challenge while studying at OPIT was time management and juggling the heavy learning schedule with her hectic job. She admitted that when balancing the two, there were times when her social life suffered, but it was doable. The key to her success was organization, time management, and the support of the rest of the cohort.
According to Karina, the cohort WhatsApp group was often a lifeline that helped keep her focused and optimistic during challenging times. Sharing challenges with others in the same boat and seeing the example of her peers often helped.
The OPIT Cohort
OPIT has a wide and varied cohort with over 300 students studying remotely from 78 countries around the world. Around 80% of OPIT’s students are already working professionals who are currently employed at top companies in a variety of industries. This includes global tech firms such as Accenture, Cisco, and Broadcom, FinTech companies like UBS, PwC, Deloitte, and the First Bank of Nigeria, and innovative startups and enterprises like Dynatrace, Leonardo, and the Pharo Foundation.
Study Methods
This cohort meets in OPIT’s online classrooms, powered by the Canvas Learning Management System (LMS). One of the world’s leading teaching and learning software, it acts as a virtual hub for all of OPIT’s academic activities, including live lectures and discussion boards. OPIT also uses the same portal to conduct continuous assessments and prepare students before final exams.
If you want to collaborate with other students, there is a collaboration tab where you can set up workrooms, and also an official Slack platform. Students tend to use WhatsApp for other informal communications.
If students need additional support, they can book an appointment with the course coordinator through Canvas to get advice on managing their workload and balancing their commitments. Students also get access to experienced career advisor Mike McCulloch, who can provide expert guidance.
A Supportive Environment
These services and resources create a supportive environment for OPIT students, which Karina says helped her throughout her course of study. Karina suggests organization and leaning into help from the community are the best ways to succeed when studying with OPIT.
In April 2025, Professor Francesco Derchi from the Open Institute of Technology (OPIT) and Chair of OPIT’s Digital Business programs entered the online classroom to talk about the current state of the Metaverse and what companies can do to engage with this technological shift. As an expert in digital marketing, he is well-placed to talk about how brands can leverage the Metaverse to further company goals.
Current State of the Metaverse
Francesco started by exploring what the Metaverse is and the rocky history of its development. Although many associate the term Metaverse with Mark Zuckerberg’s 2021 announcement of Meta’s pivot toward a virtual immersive experience co-created by users, the concept actually existed long before. In his 1992 novel Snow Crash, author Neal Stephenson described a very similar concept, with people using avatars to seamlessly step out of the real world and into a highly connected virtual world.
Zuckerberg’s announcement was not even the start of real Metaverse-like experiences. Released in 2003, Second Life is a virtual world in which multiple users come together and engage through avatars. Participation in Second Life peaked at about one million active users in 2007. Similarly, Minecraft, released in 2011, is a virtual world where users can explore and build, and it offers multiplayer options.
What set Zuckerberg’s vision apart from these earlier iterations is that he imagined a much broader virtual world, with almost limitless creation and interaction possibilities. However, this proved much more difficult in practice.
Both Meta and Microsoft started investing significantly in the Metaverse at around the same time, with Microsoft completing its acquisition of Activision Blizzard – a gaming company that creates virtual world games such as World of Warcraft – in 2023 and working with Epic Games to bring Fortnite to their Xbox cloud gaming platform.
But limited adoption of new Metaverse technology saw both Meta and Microsoft announce major layoffs and cutbacks on their Metaverse investments.
Open Garden Metaverse
One of the major issues for the big Metaverse vision is that it requires an open-garden Metaverse. Matthew Ball defined this kind of Metaverse in his 2022 book:
“A massively scaled and interoperable network of real-time rendered 3D virtual worlds that can be experienced synchronously and persistently by an effectively unlimited number of users with an individual sense of presence, and with continuity of data, such as identity, history, entitlements, objects, communication, and payments.”
This vision requires an open Metaverse, a virtual world beyond any single company’s walled garden that allows interaction across platforms. With the current technology and state of the market, this is believed to be at least 10 years away.
With that in mind, Zuckerberg and Meta have pivoted away from expanding their Metaverse towards delivering devices such as AI glasses with augmented reality capabilities and virtual reality headsets.
Nevertheless, the Metaverse is still expanding today, but within walled garden contexts. Francesco pointed to Pokémon Go and Roblox as examples of Metaverse-esque words with enormous engagement and popularity.
Brands Engaging with the Metaverse: Nike Case Study
What does that mean for brands? Should they ignore the Metaverse until it becomes a more realistic proposition, or should they be establishing their Meta presence now?
Francesco used Nike’s successful approach to Meta engagement to show how brands can leverage the Metaverse today.
He pointed out that this was a strategic move from Nike to protect their brand. As a cultural phenomenon, people will naturally bring their affinity with Nike into the virtual space with them. If Nike doesn’t constantly monitor that presence, they can lose control of it. Rather than see this as a threat, Nike identified it as an opportunity. As people engage more online, their virtual appearance can become even more important than their physical appearance. Therefore, there is a space for Nike to occupy in this virtual world as a cultural icon.
Nike chose an ad hoc approach, going to users where they are and providing experiences within popular existing platforms.
As more than 1.5 million people play Fortnite every day, Nike started there, first selling a variety of virtual shoes that users can buy to kit out their avatars.
Roblox similarly has around 380 million monthly active users, so Nike entered the space and created NIKELAND, a purpose-built virtual area that offers a unique brand experience in the virtual world. For example, during NBA All-Star Week, LeBron James visited NIKELAND, where he coached and engaged with players. During the FIFA World Cup, NIKELAND let users claim two free soccer jerseys to show support for their favorite teams. According to statistics published at the end of 2023, in less than two years, NIKELAND had more than 34.9 million visitors, with over 13.4 billion hours of engagement and $185 million in NFT (non-fungible tokens or unique digital assets) sales.
Final Thoughts
Francesco concluded by discussing that while Nike has been successful in the Metaverse, this is not necessarily a success that will be simple for smaller brands to replicate. Nike was successful in the virtual world because they are a cultural phenomenon, and the Metaverse is a combination of technology and culture.
Therefore, brands today must decide how to engage with the current state of the Metaverse and prepare for its potential future expansion. Because existing Metaverses are walled gardens, brands also need to decide which Metaverses warrant investment or whether it is worth creating their own dedicated platforms. This all comes down to an appetite for risk.
Facing these types of challenges comes down to understanding the business potential of new technologies and making decisions based on risk and opportunity. OPIT’s BSc in Digital Business and MSc in Digital Business and Innovation help develop these skills, with Francesco also serving as program chair.
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