Belfast trip: Studio Ulster, DATUM Launch, RENDR Festival

By Camille Donegan, CEO at Eirmersive

Camille Donegan showcasing the Eirmersive membership in Belfast

Last week in Belfast was one of those trips that really reminds you why this work matters and why people and community must sit at the heart of meaningful technological evolution. I feel genuinely privileged to work in an industry shaped by so many inspiring, creative, and generous minds.

From standing-room-only rooms to packed studios, it was all about inclusive creativity, practical adoption, and cross-border connection.

We kicked things off at Studio Ulster for their Inclusive Creativity concert - huge credit to Professor Paul Moore and the team for showing how immersive technologies can genuinely widen access and participation in the arts.

From there, it was over to the DATUM launch, where AMIC at Queen's University Belfast and Irish Manufacturing Research unveiled their new digital transformation programme for manufacturing. Great to catch up there with Barry Kennedy. We look forward to seeing how the PRISM programme research can support DATUM.

We also spent time with the Retinize team, getting properly under the hood of the latest features in their Animotive platform – a great deep dive ahead of the next Immersive Futures workshop taking place at Creative Spark Dundalk on 26th Feb. We are looking forward to seeing how creative professionals work with them.

And then on to RENDR Festival – a super cool VFX, games and immersive conference with serious energy and some of the most talented screen makers and shakers from across the globe. Massive well done to Ronan O'Boyle on his talk about how the Lureo platform is leveraging AI.

Delighted that Eirmersive co-hosted the Rendr launch meetup alongside WiiT, Immersive Arts UK, Innovate UK Immersive Tech Network, Digital Arts Studio and Nerve Centre, bringing together 70+ immersive and creative professionals from both sides of the border. The conversations, connections and ideas flowing in that room were something special.

It was really great to see so many from the Eirmersive wider community there as well as international friends. More to follow – this feels like the beginning of a new phase of all island immersive collaboration!