A co-founder of Playstation’s virtual reality (VR) project will lead a training programme at the Unity Centre of Excellence, a Salford-based training facility for the Unity virtual reality platform at the Home of Skills and Technology (HOST).
MediaCityUK, HOST’s northwestern tech hub, recently hailed the news shortly after the programme was announced.
Simon Benson, former Director of Immersive Technology Group at Sony, was selected for his 25-year career in VR, AR, and interactive entertainment with Sony and other top partners, and aims to foster the next generation of experts in VR.
The announcement comes after the Salford government revealed in March HOST had struck a deal with Unity, the world’s top platform for building 3D content in real time (RT3D).
IN4.0 Group will operate the new centre and Mo Isap, an entrepreneur from the northwestern city of Blackburn, will launch the academy for British students seeking certified courses in the platform.
The programme will launch on June 21 and aims to instruct recent graduates and professionals seeking to improve skills in Unity development.
The 12-week course will take place via remote learning and will instruct upcoming learners as Unity Certified Professional Programmers via case studies from top companies in manufacturing, engineering, healthcare and creative media, among others, the report added.
The programme will also offer mentoring and career support with workshops, and will aim to guarantee job interviews after successfully completing the course.
Simon Benson said in a statement the new training facility would become “ideally placed to lead the immersive and interactive revolution that is already influencing many industries.”
He added the partnership would bring “a fantastic blend of high demand skills generation, cutting edge innovation and unparalleled business support, ensuring that MediaCityUK is the only place to be if you’re in the real-time development space.”
Nicole Zingg, Global Head of Channel Partnerships at Unity, said:
“The Unity Centre of Excellence at HOST will define a new premium standard of skills generation in Unity. With the pace of innovation across industries, the academy is built to support the next generation of skills needed both for the roles of today and tomorrow”
The developments come as the booming video gaming industry taps into RT3D content amid a massive spike in demand for trained developers.
Unity has become one of the biggest platforms in the industry with the highest expected growth potential of more than 70 percent over the next 10 years, Burning Glass found in a 2019 report.
