Full Sail Brings Tech Leaders Together for Central Florida Immersive Tech Summit

The conference featured talks from industry professionals, a Unity developer workshop, a career fair, and more.

A large room with lots of booths set up, each from a different technology company. People in business-casual clothing are walking around and socializing.

Full Sail University recently hosted the Central Florida Immersive Technology Summit, a collaborative conference featuring more than 100 speakers from some of the top tech companies in the Central Florida area.

The summit kicked off with a Women’s Breakfast, where high-achieving women in tech could network while enjoying coffee and refreshments. Several women took turns speaking to the group about the importance of leading and representing the next generation of female tech professionals.

“I don’t want to be a typical nurse. I don’t want to be a typical anything,” said Colonel Cheryl Lockhart as she told her story about making waves in the Air Force. “About a year and a half ago, we were able to bring in the Air Force’s first medical treatment facility [virtual reality] program.”

“Bringing women together and having this alliance between all these different women who are working in different industries in the technology space is very important for us,” shared Full Sail’s Education Director of Emerging Technologies Dr. Haifa Maamar.

Students and industry professionals also attended a Unity Developer Workshop. Several company heads, including Brady Moore, Cesium's Director of Mission Support, walked participants through best practices using Unity software. Their talks featured demos, insights into their decision-making, and opportunities to get hands-on with Unity.

“What's really important about the Unity workshop is that there is a ton of opportunity for anyone to access Unity, learn it, and then take their ideas to the next level. One of the biggest things that Unity is all about is democratizing development,” explained Full Sail graduate Caris Baker, a Senior Technical Artist with Unity Technologies and one of this year’s inductees into the Full Sail University Hall of Fame.

Two men wear virtual reality headsets. They both have their arms extended upward and seem to be enjoying themselves.

There were several opportunities to play with companies’ gear and technology at the summit.

Throughout the day, summit attendees could sit in on 30-minute talks held around campus. Speakers included John Cunningham, Head of Government and Aerospace at Unity, Carol Ann Logue, Director of Programs and Operations at the University of Central Florida, and Kevin Carpenter, General Manager at Siemens Energy.

“[The summit] is taking the people who are developing a lot of this technology and putting them in a room with people who are going to use it,” said Full Sail’s Education Director for Visual Arts Rick Ramsey. “It's exciting that people who provide technology are here at a school where we teach technology to the next generation that's going to be out there.”

Students could also attend the large career fair located in the Full Sail Live venue, which was held in partnership with the VR/AR Association of Central Florida. Several tech companies, including Magic Leap Inc., X-Force, and AVT Simulation, set up booths and welcomed students to come chat throughout the afternoon.

“Today’s in-person career fair is an opportunity to get to network and meet these employers who are looking to cultivate talent [in the Central Florida region]. Students couldn’t ask for a better situation to get started,” shared Full Sail’s Associate Director of Career Development Brad McDonald.

The Central Florida Immersive Technology Summit came to a close in the evening with an outdoor networking reception. Industry professionals and students gathered to socialize, exchange ideas, and celebrate a successful summit.