Oman based technology and innovation company, Raiar Technologies have become the Sultanate’s first Unity Authorized Training Partner after signing an agreement with KnowledgePoint Connect – Unity Learning Services Distributor in Europe, Middle East and Africa.
Under this agreement, Raiar Technologies will work towards providing training courses as well as Unity Certification Exams on behalf of Unity Technologies to both students as well as professionals in Oman.
Business Live Middle East met up with Satyabrata Acharya, Founder / CEO of Raiar Technologies and Rickard Lautrup, Program Manager, KnowledgePoint Connect to know more:
Acharya, who brings with him close to a decade of experience in the Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) space, founded Raiar Technologies with a vision to transform the way businesses operate by providing cutting-edge technologies and solutions.
It was but a natural progression for them to partner with one of the world’s most popular game development platform, Unity.
So, what is Unity?
Unity provides the platform for software developers and game developers to create and publish their own applications and/or games. Be it mobile games or VR apps for the energy industry – Unity has you covered.
Angry Birds 2, Pokémon Go, Monument Valley (1 & 2) – were all developed on the Unity Engine. “Today, more than 50% of all new mobile games are created in Unity,” elaborates Rickard Lautrup, Program Manager, KnowledgePoint Connect. “And the platform is growing exponentially across industries.”
Indeed, Unity goes beyond game development and may be used across industries to create applications that suit their own individual needs.
One wonders how exactly Unity fits into the market in Oman
“There is a huge demand for developers globally,” says Lautrup. “Half a year ago, there were 1 million developers and today there are 1.6 million of them. Hence, we have been looking at talent everywhere including Europe, Middle East and Africa.”
Unity has democratised game development and created a platform for anyone with the passion for it, to obtain the skills and support required to publish applications of their choice. “And it’s not just the Oman market, but the whole global market, where you can seek out potential job opportunities and/or projects. AR/VR technologies can be applied to any industry – Architecture, engineering and construction, automotive, edu-training…If you only think games, you kind of limit yourself. The possibilities, in this case, are virtually limitless.”
Acharya affirms, “We would like to create a community that is involved in creating something unique. Currently, there are no avenues here where students can learn these. Courseware such as game development and AR/VR can act as a module to the main syllabus. Our workshop models can help students not only get trained but at the end of each course, they will have something tangible to help them evaluate themselves and bring about a sense of accomplishment. Students can walk away thinking, ‘I have created this app, or I have created this game.’ This is kind of a positive feedback loop creates more satisfaction, and a result motivates them to keep on learning.”
“Technology today gives us so many opportunities,” says Lautrup. “We can sit down anywhere in this world and design a mobile app and Unity provides the platform for anyone to develop and launch their app on mobile marketplaces. You have the tools to be creative. And we would love to see games from Oman on the top of market places someday.”
Acharya agrees. “We use WhatsApp, Facebook, Instagram – all are apps that were created abroad. Maybe one day Oman will create an app that the whole world will use. That’s the kind of mindset we’d like to inculcate.”
At the end of the day, it is about changing mindsets and opening up channels for students and professionals to learn something new. One doesn’t have to be restricted in their own market – and thanks to Unity the world is (virtually) your oyster.
