Webinar: Extended Reality Solutions for Creative and Cultural Industries: ‘Metaverse, XR/AR and Digital Media‘

Coventry University and EBN are proud to be partnering up on the webinar series dedicated to the transformative power of innovation through Simulation, Immersive and Experiential Technologies.

New technologies like artificial intelligence and virtual reality are having a big impact on the workforce and economy. There is a huge demand for skills in the design, delivery and day-to-day use of these solutions. The adoption of innovative technologies across industries, including retail, education, disaster management, mobility, healthcare, and manufacturing, has been driven primarily by disruptive business models brought by globalization and digitization. We see the developments of digital tools and new business models in every single industry pushing the borders of how, when, where and what can be experienced.

For whom?

The joint webinar series will give the European startup, corporate, research, and innovation community an opportunity to get to know the world-class experts who will showcase their flagship projects, inspire industry collaborations, and share their exciting plans for the future.

Extended Reality Solutions for Creative Industries: Metaverse, XR/AR and Digital Media

As the world of business evolves to meet the growing needs of Industry 4.0 and adapt to emerging technologies such as augmented and virtual reality, the metaverse, AI and 5G, organisations need to experiment with new ways of working and application of new technologies and tools.

Coventry University’s Faculty of Arts and Humanities is developing its own immersive strategy that will embed immersive practices and technologies into all aspects of our commercial, community and teaching and learning activities.

This webinar will examine the approach the Faculty is taking and how it has worked with different businesses and sectors to develop new ways of working with students, staff, industry, community and research while contending with the very real challenges of such radical changes in practice. It will explore lessons learned through our Hack, Hyper and Immersive projects with academics, as well as our industry projects such as the 5G Creative Explorer project, which brought together creative organisations to explore the use of 5G in the context of immersive/ XR, and the Genesys Creators Programme.

When and where

25 Jan 2023, 3 pm GMT/ 4 pm CET, online.

Registration

Speakers

Dr Bianca Wright, Curriculum Lead: Immersive (Associate Professor) at Coventry University

“Dr Bianca Wright is passionate about investigating the possibilities, challenges and risks of new and emerging technologies including immersive: XR, virtual reality, augmented reality, mixed reality and gaming. She has led and worked on a range of projects in academia and industry, most recently focusing on immersive technologies, customer experience, digital marketing, and leadership training.

Bianca is the Curriculum Lead: Immersive (Associate Professor – Academic) at Coventry University and leads the immersive strategy for the Faculty of Arts and Humanities.

An award-winning technology journalist whose work has appeared in consumer and trade magazines and websites in the US, the UK, Australia, South Africa and Europe, Bianca was first runner-up in the print business magazine category at the 2002 Telkom ICT Journalist of the Year Awards. She also won second place in the 2002 AISI Media Awards special category IDRC Award For Reporting on Research and Innovation. She has written several white papers about technology and business.

In 2012, she was selected as one of the Top 40 Under 40 business achievers by the Nelson Mandela Bay Business Chamber. She completed the VR Mobile 360 Developer nanodegree through Udacity. Bianca’s PhD focused on serious games and gamification.”

Shaun Hides, Academic Dean of Arts & Humanities, Coventry University

Dr Shaun Hides originally trained in Archaeology and Ethnography; his PhD was on the expression of ethnic and cultural identity through material culture. He trained in, and taught, film/video-making, producing short documentaries and educational programmes.

Having taught in Leicester (1988-92) and Leeds Metropolitan Universities (1992-97), Shaun joined Coventry University in 1997. He became Head of the Media Department in 2009, authoring the Department’s ‘Open Media Strategy’, championing innovation strategies, which underpinned the Department’s rise in UK Education rankings. In 2012 he led the JISC-funded Coventry Open Media Classes project, exploring open-access, digital-media education. In 2014 he established and Co-directed the £3.4M Disruptive Media Learning Lab. which explores disruptive technologies in Higher Education, This work was recognised by JISC, Sony Ericsson, Apple, Adobe and UK and EU Parliamentary Commissions; and informed several publications and presentations including Open Education: A Study in Disruption (2014),

In 2015 he became Deputy Dean of Arts & Humanities, and Academic Dean in December 2016. Shaun is currently driving the development of a distinctive strategic vision for 21st Century Arts & Humanities supporting a major redevelopment of the Faculty’s estate for 2022. His interests are education innovation, the future creative workforce and Higher Education, and the cultural context of technological change.

Simon Wright, Co-founder of CX Ninjas

Simon Wright is a CX innovator and storyteller, having held roles in innovation, product marketing and CX talent development. Simon built one of the UK’s first hosted contact centres in the early 2000s.

As a Genesys partner invented the Training Manager plug-in for Genesys WFM – acquired by Genesys in 2017. Simon is the Co-founder of CX Ninjas, a company that helps CX vendors and their partners create maximum value from cloud sales.

Simon co-developed the Genesys Creators Program, a global initiative with Coventry University and other universities around the world, to educate and inspire the next generation of young CX professionals.

Gren Haydn Spencer, director of Wireframe Extended Reality

Gren Haydn Spencer is the director of Wireframe Extended Reality. Gren is a spatial computing and mixed reality specialist, with a long track record of complex systems design, consultancy and installations.

Spatial computing consultant and developer / Unity + Unreal integration / VR / AR / Windows Mixed Reality / Motion capture / Optical tracking (Optitrack, Vicon), Robotics (Kuka), / Drone pilot / Remote collaboration consultant.

Gren’s clients and collaborators include Universal Studios, Kasabian, McLaren, Jaguar Land Rover, Twitter, Microsoft, BAE Systems, Rolls Royce, Falmouth University, Coventry University and Madame Tussaud’s.

Schedule 2023

You are invited to join us at the ‘Extended Reality Solutions for… ‘webinars dedicated to the following themes:

Digital Media, Arts & Humanities – 25 Jan 2023, 3 pm UK/4 pm CET
Healthcare Simulation & 5G – 1 March 2023, 3 pm UK/4 pm CET
Transport and Mobility – date TBC
Digital Manufacturing & Industry 4.0 – date TBC

About Coventry University

Coventry University is a global, modern university with a mission of Creating Better Futures. We were founded by entrepreneurs and industrialists in 1843 as the Coventry School of Design and we continue to have strong links with the public and private sectors, providing job-ready graduates with the skills and creative thinking to improve their communities.

With a proud tradition of innovative teaching and learning, Coventry University has world-class campus facilities, the UK’s first standalone 5G network and a digital community of learning. Our students are part of a global network with 50,000 learners studying for Coventry University degrees in more than 40 different countries and collaborating with 150 higher education providers worldwide.

In April 2022, we were honoured with the Queen’s Award for Enterprise in the category of International Trade, the UK’s most prestigious business award. In recent years, we have won many awards and vastly improved our rankings in the league tables that matter to students – but what matters to us is delivering transformational change for our students, collaborators, and communities around the world as we continue to evolve into a global education group.

Cross-industry collaboration

Coventry University’s School of Arts and Design has a long tradition of making a distinctive contribution to global creative industries. Work is well underway on a redevelopment at Coventry University which will transform the teaching and student experience in the Faculty of Arts and Humanities (in areas such as e.g. Architecture, Automotive and Transport Design, Interior Design, Product Design, Graphic Design, Illustration and Animation, Fine Art, and Fashion). The new facilities will feature a hyper studio designed for cross-disciplinary projects and immersive studios with cutting-edge Virtual Reality and Mixed Reality technologies.