TECHY WITH A TWIST…
Dr. Tara Collingwoode-Williams
Speaker | Educator | Innovator | XR Researcher | Community Champion
Tara Collingwoode-Williams is a speaker, educator, innovator, researcher, and community champion in Extended Reality (XR). She is a Lecturer in Computing at Goldsmiths, University of London, where she teaches on the Master’s program in Virtual and Augmented Reality. Tara completed her PhD in Virtual Reality at Goldsmiths, with research focusing on embodiment, virtual avatars, and VR training for medical communication skills.
Her career spans impactful collaborations with leading institutions including the Virginia Serious Games Institute, George Mason University, UCL, and Meta. She has contributed to global online education through Coursera’s VR Specialisation, which has reached over 100,000 learners worldwide.
Tara has held leadership roles within the ACM Interactive Media Experiences (IMX) community, including Publicity Co-Chair for the 2021 conference and Diversity & Inclusion Chair for 2022. She is deeply committed to Equity, Diversity, and Inclusivity (EDI), leading EDI initiatives in Computing at Goldsmiths and co-founding the Black XR Network to support people of colour in the creative technology space.
As a public speaker, Tara has shared her expertise at international conferences and high-profile events such as the Gatherverse Super Hero Engine (S.H.E) Summit, the Metaverse APPG at UK Parliament, and the Develop:Brighton Games Conference. Her work and advocacy have been featured in The Voice, and she continues to inspire the next generation of XR creators through mentoring, teaching, and community-building.
Outside of her professional endeavours, Tara is passionate about tech innovation, travel, fashion, fitness, event planning, and dance—embracing creativity in all aspects of her life.