Ireland in danger of losing out on potential of Metaverse
Digital Business Ireland (DBI) — ‘Ireland's Dedicated eBusiness Representative Body’ — has called on Government to “introduce a comprehensive national strategy for the Metaverse, or risk losing out on economic growth possibilities associated with the initiative”.
Eirmersive director Camille Donegan added her voice to the call saying, “The Metaverse strategy for Finland defines the metaverse as ‘the convergence of the physical and digital worlds in the next revolutionary stage of the internet, social networks and emerging technologies’. Our latest data finds that the Irish Immersive sector comprises organisations generating €90 million annually. This figure represents an increase from €43 million recorded in 2022, signalling a significant increase in activity… Building upon a great exemplar from Finland, a Metaverse Strategy for Ireland is essential to position ourselves as a global leader in this space. We firmly believe that the integration of immersive technology is not just an opportunity but a necessity for the future of business growth and transformation in our country.”
Read the full article on TechCentral.ie.
RTE speaks to Eirmersive
It was a pleasure to speak with RTE business reporter Adam McGuire last week, along with some well known Eirmersive members.
In the article entitled Reality check: Irish tech firms looking to go beyond the metaverse, Eirmersive director Camille Donegan expressed the positive side of Meta’s pivot to ‘The Metaverse’ -
"When all of this came out business got busier," said Camille Donegan, who specialises in VR-based training and experiences. "Companies that were maybe putting it on a longer roadmap suddenly decided that they needed to look at the metaverse and immersive technology solutions sooner.
"It did normalise the conversation and helped us with our agenda as well."
Showcasing XR to Local Authorities
Eirmersive was delighted to speak today with local authorities on the potential for creatives to upskill with immersive technologies. We’d like to thank Tania Banotti for the showcase opportunity and to see how the creative sector in Ireland is already embracing immersive. We're here to support their journey.
'Onward' event series supported by Meta
Eirmersive is delighted to announce 'Onward', a new Immersive Industry event series supported by Meta, kicking off on Tuesday 29th November in Dublin.
Featuring the leading thinkers, companies and product demonstrations from the world of Augmented and Virtual Reality, ‘Onward’ aims to bring industry together to network, share cross-sector knowledge and to learn more about the value and impact of immersive technologies in the enterprise and creative sectors.
Eirmersive chairperson, Fiona Kilkelly said, "Onward creates a much needed opportunity for the immersive tech sector to meet new collaborators, gain new insight and information and experience immersive tech products, experiences and solutions. Connecting and sharing is vital at this stage in the immersive tech sector’s growth and we are delighted with the support from Meta which enables Eirmersive to do just that".
Get Involved on the Eirmersive discussion forum to learn more. Subsequent events will take place in February and April 2023.
€500K Awarded To Develop VR Training for Renewable Wind Energy Sector - Eirmersive participation
Mayo, Sligo and Leitrim Education and Training Board (MSLETB) have been awarded funding, through the SOLAS “Skills to Advance: Innovation through Collaboration” Call for Proposals 2021, to research and develop Immersive Technology (ImTech) Skills Training and Resources for the renewable wind energy sector using immersive technology enhanced-learning tools.
Over €500k has been awarded by SOLAS to develop virtual reality training with a particular emphasis on the onshore and offshore renewable energy sectors. MSLETB, working in collaboration with Limerick Clare Education and Training Board (LCETB), Western Development Commission (WDC), Immersive Technologies Skillnet, Regional Enterprise Programme Managers in the West, North-West and Mid-West, Eirmersive, and Fastrack to Information Technology (FIT), will deliver this innovation project.
This project – “Immersive Technology Skills” (ImTech Skills) - aims to develop a strategic approach, in collaboration with stakeholders and businesses, to support the development of ImTech Training specifically for the Renewable Wind Energy sector. The aim of this project is to create fresh opportunities for training and upskilling the existing workforce using high-quality enhanced-learning skills embedded into state-of-the-art Virtual Reality imaging tools.
Initially the focus will be on the training requirements for Wind Turbine Engineers as it is relevant to both the onshore and offshore renewable wind energy generation. The ImTech Training developed will have applicability across other renewable energy disciplines and technologies as well as the potential for deployment across other industries and sectors in the future.
A Project Manager has been appointed and a Steering Group has been convened to provide support, guidance, advice and feedback to the Project Manager. The Steering Group is comprised of Senior Representatives from the partners who first collaborated in the successful submission to SOLAS for funding for this project.
Companies and Organisations operating in the Wind Energy Sector seeking further information or who are interested in participating in this project are invited to contact the Project Manager at projectmanager@wmcgalway.com or on 085-127 2432.
New research highlights growing potential of Irish Immersive Technology industry
A new research report titled The Irish Immersive Economy launched today shows that the Irish immersive technology sector is currently worth over €43 million, with significant potential for future growth as 63% of businesses in the sector expect to grow in the coming 12 months.
Commissioned by Immersive Technologies Skillnet, Animation Skillnet and Screen Skillnet, all promoted by Dublin Business lnnovation Centre (DBIC), the report outlines Ireland’s current immersive technology capacity and capabilities. It also makes recommendations that support business growth across a range of sectors and supports the attraction of foreign-direct investment within the sector.
Majority of organisations making a major investment or exploring new applications
The research finds that there is significant opportunity for Irish immersive tech businesses to excel on a global scale, with 80% of Irish immersive businesses are exporting to Europe and internationally. Investment in the sector is also robust with a majority of organisations surveyed certain they will either make a major investment (22.2%) or exploring new applications (40.5%), with a further 18.5% seeing a possibility of investing in the next 12 months.
Report highlights barriers to growth in the sector
The report also explores the most critical barriers to growth in the sector, and signalling that significant strategic support is required to capitalise on these new opportunities. Five main barriers to growth of the sector include shortages in talent (44.9%), funding (44.1%), knowledge (31.5%) and time (31.5%), as well as a lack of an ecosystem (29.9%).
Tracey Donnery, Executive Director, Skillnet Ireland said: “Immersive technologies have evolved rapidly in recent years. For Ireland to be a global leader in this space, we need to ensure the immersive technologies talent base reflects not just current business demands but the challenges of future growth in existing and new markets. Central to achieving our potential in this space will be developing a robust skills and talent pipeline, a world class research and development framework, and relevant business supports to start-ups and scaling up existing businesses.”
Susan Talbot, Network Manager, Immersive Technologies Skillnet, said: “This much needed body of work not only gives us a baseline for future research around the Irish immersive ecosystem, but will help align thinking and aid key decision makers moving forward. From a Network perspective, the recommendations will ensure a continued industry-led approach in building Ireland’s immersive talent pool.”
Camille Donegan, Director of Eirmersive and Creative Director of Solas VR, said: “This important report was commissioned to gain a better understanding of Ireland’s emerging immersive technology ecosystem and talent needs. It responds to a growing demand from industry itself to articulate Ireland’s unique voice and contribution to the national and global immersive technology marketplace. The report will also help inform how key government stakeholders can go further in supporting the needs of this emerging sector.”
The report also reveals sectors where immersive technologies are finding the widest application including education and research, software development, and training and skills. It also shows the real-life impact of immersive technologies and the benefits it can offer Irish businesses and people including:
BioPharmaChem Skillnet recently collaborated with TU Dublin to develop a VR programme called ‘Powder Handling for Pharma Manufacturing’. Using VR, it allows participants to learn powder handling essentials – a critical process in pharmaceutical manufacturing – in a low-risk environment – significantly reducing training costs as workers virtually perform activities in a simulated environment.
Immersive tech is also helping many organisations who are unlikely to go back to a full “office only” model. MeetingRoom has built a secure and scalable end to end VR enterprise solution to encourage collaboration where people cannot be in the same room together, proving especially useful for sessions that do not work well on standard video calls, such as workshops, brainstorming, site tours and audits.