Kate Raynes-Goldie.
Game designer, researcher and virtual and augmented reality expert Kate Raynes-Goldie has taken out the award for ICT Professional of the Year at the Australian Computer Society’s Digital Disruptor Awards.
Raynes-Goldie is the owner of games consultancy Games We Play and an adjunct research fellow at Curtin University.
“I am honoured to accept this award and am proud to be representing Western Australia and women in the Games and Technology sector. Even though we only have about 10 to 15 per cent women in the games and tech industries I'm optimistic about the future. VR/AR is about to be huge and it provides a chance to disrupt diversity because it's a new industry. Sometimes if you don't like how the table is set, the easiest thing to do is tip it over."
Raynes-Goldie is also the director of the Games and Interactive program at FTI, where she facilitiated Level One, Western Australia’s first games co-working space, and started Playup Perth, a monthly public showcase of prototype games.
Most recently, Raynes-Goldie completed Australia’s first Indigenous card game Who Your Mob with Aboriginal owned and operated cross-platform media company Weerianna Street Media.
Raynes-Goldie also sits on Techboard’s Panel of Experts, where she provides input into their fortnightly Startup Ranking, and is an active member of the Women In Technology, WA (WITWA) Techtrails program.