Kainos is proud to support the formation of
Immersive Tech NI, designed to bring together the most creative minds in Northern Ireland as a community to explore and expand the possibilities created by immersive technologies, including virtual and augmented reality.
To celebrate the creation of this group, an exclusive launch party will be held on
Friday 4th November ahead of the group's first sponsored event, an immersive tech Hackathon taking place on
Saturday 5th November (supported by an optional training workshop held on the Friday afternoon).
The events will be held at The Hive, PwC's collaborative, technology innovation space in Belfast. They are free to attend and are open to anyone with an interest in discussing and expanding their knowledge of this exciting field.
Whether they're developers, creatives, students, gaming enthusiasts, entrepreneurs or representatives from industry and academia, delegates attending the launch event will hear from dynamic keynote speakers exploring recent developments in immersive technology and the future of the industry in Northern Ireland and beyond.
Attendees will also get to experience the latest innovations in immersive technology, including exclusive interactive demos of the latest augmented and virtual reality headsets: the Microsoft HoloLens and the HTC Vive. Drinks and canapes will be provided and the event promises to be a fantastic opportunity for those with an interest in this area to meet and get to know each other.
Following the launch event, Saturday's 12-hour
Immersive Tech Hackathon will be open to technical developers, designers, product developers and more, who will bring together their skills to develop their ideas around the theme of Immersive Technology in Education, mentored by industry experts.
Attendees will get hands-on experience of the creative and technical possibilities presented by immersive technologies like Unity, HTC Vive and Microsoft HoloLens, and will be in with a chance of winning some fantastic prizes.
'Northern Ireland has been forefront of innovation in technology for a long time now, and Immersive Tech NI is a fantastic continuation of that,' says Tom Gray, CTO of Kainos and Head of Digital Catapult Northern Ireland. 'I'm passionate about the ongoing development of technology businesses in Northern Ireland and I'm excited to see how this group, and events like the Hackathon, will contribute to Northern Ireland's growing reputation as a hub of ingenuity and creativity within the industry.'
Along with fellow partners PwC, Belfast City Council, Digital Catapult NI and Northern Ireland Screen, Kainos is proud to support this exciting new initiative. 'Immersive technology provides huge opportunities in so many areas, including for many of the clients we work with,' says Luke McNeice, Innovation Lead at Kainos. 'We're always looking for new ideas and emerging talent in this arena so it will be great to see what the participants at the Hackathon come up with!'
