Innovate Her Presents – Get Into Gaming

Written by: on July 7, 2020

Like many brands, COVID19 allowed us to explore different avenues of functioning. With collaboration being one of our values, it was a priority for us to ensure that working, learning and engaging with others was something we continued to do - even if we couldn’t do it face to face!

Firstly, we released a new online membership option, allowing brands to connect with us virtually. We then released a new online learning initiative – Innovate Her online – allowing us to continue our valuable work with girls and mentors. Encouraged by our new remote way of working, we decided to pursue one more online venture, one that would allow us to connect with the public – Innovate Her presents (iHerPresents to me and you!)

InnovateHer presents is a monthly event for young people and those considering a career change. The event themes are technology focused and showcase a range of sectors that may include; Gaming, Cyber Security, E-sports, Fashion, Beauty, Science, Leadership and more.

The events run in various formats, including panels, workshops and Q&As which are all hosted on Zoom. Our events are always inspiring, educational, diverse and interactive.

One industry that hasn’t been as affected by COVID19 is gaming. In fact, In some cases it has thrived. According to Statista.com, there has been an impressive 29% surge in gaming since the hit of COVID19. Armed with that info, Gaming seemed like a good topic to start with.

We were joined by Declan Cassidy, the CEO of IntoGames and Catherine Woolley, games designer at Media Molecule. 

Catherine Woolley

With over ten years of experience in the industry, Catherine Woolley has been at Media Molecule for almost three years. Media Molecule is renowned for it’s dreamy open world games such as Little Big Planet, and more recently, Dreams. Describing it as ‘more than just a game’, Catherine explains how the game allows you to create your own games and share them with other users. ‘If you’re an artist, you can create art, if you’re a musician you can create music.’ she said. 

Declan Cassidy

Whilst Declan holds a different scope of experience, his journey is just as valuable. Declan has dedicated his life to helping young people find a rewarding career within the games industry. His journey started when he began an initiative to connect disadvantaged children to small gaming studios across the UK. Describing the initiative as ‘rewarding’, he soon realized that there was a huge gap in between having an interest in gaming and taking action. IntoGames is Declan’s way of bridging that gap. With an aim of making the industry more accessible, the site offers mentoring, as well as a vast resource up with over 120 gaming career pathways for people to explore. 

In this webinar, along with our very own Chelsea Slater, Catherine and Declan discuss their roots in gaming, their current projects, pathways into the industry and most importantly, their thoughts on diversity and inclusion.

If this webinar has inspired you, we would love to hear about it. Maybe you’re interested in the industry but just don’t know where to start, or yearn for a career change but you feel like the industry isn’t for you, we can assure you that tech is for everyone.

For more information on how you can take your first steps, be sure to visit IntoGames. 

Want to be in the loop about our future events? Tap here to visit our events page!