The second VR Diversity Initiative held on the 8th of May at Plexal City in Stratford allowed participants to not only learn how to create 360 film and Unity, but mixed reality (MR) as well. Since the launch of the VR Diversity Initiative, we can now see that the majority of under-represented groups come from women with attendees making up 58% of the participants.
Most of the participants came from a creative background, with the majority wanting to learn how to incorporate VR and AR into their work. So far, the feedback has been incredibly positive with 76% of past participants saying they now feel more confident in pursuing a career in XR. All of them have recommended the VR Diversity Initiative to anyone who wants to take their first steps towards a career in XR. The VR Diversity Initiative continues to try and create an impact in the new immersive space of VR. We had a large variety of participants, all coming from under-represented backgrounds and all wanting to learn more about VR, 360 film or Mixed Reality.
The aim of having all students create a rough VR prototype whether it be a 360 film or rough working VR Unity project led to four 360 films to be made, and every member of the Unity group create their personal Unity project. Kyaw Tun Sein, one of the Unity workshop leaders says, “The impact of VRDI is huge. After just a few hours people who had never touched Unity before before developing a project with confidence.”
The event also had Mixed Reality being taught by DoubleMe, where participants were able to experience Holoportation with the Microsoft Hololens. At the end of the workshop, participants and workshop leaders discussed what they learned, and try or view each other’s projects. Some of these projects can be seen on the VR Diversity Initiative’s website.
Although this is only the third VR Diversity Initiative, success stories are already starting to come from past participants. After its success, the third VR Diversity Initiative will be held at the same location on the 31st of July 2018 at Plexal City. To sign up please click here.