Dome shines light on women in tech

The Immersive Dome in Plymouth

Women working in the "male-dominated" tech industry showcased their skills in Devon's 50ft (15m) "Immersive Dome".

The pioneering project in Devonport Market Hall, the first of its kind in Europe, works by "wrapping its audience" in a film and soundscape.

At this week's Immerse Fulldome UK Festival, the public have been invited to experience the technology.

On a day dedicated to women in emerging technology, it became a platform to share ideas, experience and support.

Women's networking event at the Dome

The networking event brought together women from across the world working in areas including augmented reality, virtual reality and 360 films.

Tech entrepreneur Lynden Campbell, who runs Hothouse Music, a sound studio in London, said: "I think women are great innovators, they are productive and they get things done and it's completely beyond me why women aren't involved in these conversations and given an environment where they feel safe to talk about the things they want to achieve."

Ms Campbell said she hoped to relocate to Plymouth for better access to the dome, adding: "There's nothing like this in Europe and it's really important that people recognise and feel proud of that."

'Beautiful Art'

Johana Buresova, from Krutart Studios in Prague, won an award for her film 3,2,1 Lift Off, which tells the story of a robot which defies gender stereotypes.

Ms Buresova said women could "discover how to work with technology to create beautiful art".

She added: "I am sad that I'm the only one from our studio here.

"I really would like to have had them with me here so they could feel the support from the community of women around technology."

Women's networking event at the Dome

Organiser Lyndsey Hall, chief executive for Real Ideas Organisation, said the event was about "bringing together amazing women doing brilliant work" in immersive technology.

She said women were finding better ways to support each other, adding: "It's how do we support each other as women to make things happen but also how do we make Plymouth and the south West the centre of that."

The dome is open to the public this week. On Wednesday, children will visit to learn about careers, while in the afternoon women who have been out of the industry due to maternity leave or childcare are invited to learn about retraining.

The South West's tech sector could be worth nearly £20bn by 2026 and create more than 125,000 new jobs over the next two years, according to research by trade body Tech South West.