Media Design School’s free VR seminar

EditorNews Make a Comment

Auckland’s Media Design School will host a free one-day seminar entitled Virtual Reality IRL – featuring New Zealand-based practitioners at the forefront of augmented reality, virtual reality and mixed reality – on Thursday 5 May.

Virtual Reality IRL, believed to be the first seminar of its kind held in New Zealand, will demonstrate the impact that VR and AR will have in the fields of travel, hospitality, training, education, retail and the creative industries by focusing on locally-based case studies from the field.

Bachelor of Creative Technologies lecturer Jamie Telford, who is one of the keynote speakers at the seminar, says that the recent democratisation of VR technology has led to an increased interest in its potential applications.

“Virtual Reality promises to transform the way we relate to and consume media,” he says. “Not since the dawn of cinema have we seen a technology capable of resetting the way we will tell stories, engage people emotionally, and create unique experiences.

“What is more important, however, is that this technology has the potential to disrupt industries beyond film and games in ways we cannot yet imagine.”

MDS director of strategic development Jackie Young says that as VR/AR is the latest example of innovative and disruptive digital design, it is fitting that Media Design School is leading the discussion on its application in the creative sector.

“Media Design School’s focus has always been on developing talent who have first-hand experience working with emerging and rapidly evolving digital technologies,” she said.

“As the first school in New Zealand to provide a specialised games course for aspirational game developers, our focus on developments in the AR/VR sector is a continuation of our commitment to producing industry-ready graduates with up-to-date real world experience.”

Virtual Reality IRL’s speakers include

  • Danu Abeysuriya. CEO & Founder, Rush Digital
  • Dr Roy Davies. CTO & Cofounder, Imersia.
  • Tony Leslie, Director, Waxeye.
  • Melanie Langlotz, Founder, Geo AR Games.
  • Mario Wynands, Founder and Managing Director, PikPok.

Virtual Reality IRL will be held as a free event on Thursday 5 May from 8.30am-5pm at the Grid AKL Innovation Precinct, 101 Pakenham St West, Auckland, 1010 and is supported by Grid Auckland.

Share this Post