Page 36 - Campus Technology, January/February 2018

SPECIAL SECTION
2017 CT IMPACT AWARDS IN DEPTH meg lloyd
Creating a Space for Digital Media Innovation
Rochester Institute of Technology’s MAGIC Spell Studios explores the intersection of digital media, film, games and entrepreneurship and provides a commercial studio for all students, faculty and staff.
Category: Education Futurists
Institution: Rochester Institute of Technology Project: MAGIC Spell Studios
Project lead: Christopher Egert, chief technology officer, MAGIC Spell Studios and associate professor, School of Interactive Games & Media
Tech lineup: Adobe, Autodesk, Cisco, Dell, Microsoft, Red Hat, Valve
IF YOU HAVE a high-tech center filled with all the latest development tools for interactive digital media, bril- liant researchers and students, and expert faculty advisers, what can you achieve? Rochester Institute of Technol- ogy (NY) hopes to find out with MAGIC Spell Studios, a facility in the institution’s Center for Media, Arts, Games,
Interaction and Creativity (MAGIC) that is fostering innova- tion, entrepreneurship and regional economic growth, as well as supporting academic and research goals.
Here’s how it works: A unique partnership between RIT, private industry and the state of New York is provid- ing both advanced technology development resources and business expertise to help students, faculty and the regional developer community incubate and commer- cialize their digital media innovations. As a result, many successful entrepreneurs are poised to support a high- tech development corridor in the region and bring their experience and knowledge back to the university.
Project lead Christopher Egert, MAGIC Spell Studios CTO and an associate professor at RIT’s School of Interactive Games & Media, explained, “The studio serves as a way to help students, faculty, industry partners and the community at large move ideas from prototype through commercial production, while at the
same time working to support the educational goals, creativity and entrepreneurial potential of each student.” As a part of the MAGIC Center, MAGIC Spell Studios
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In 2018, MAGIC Spell Studios will expand into a new building, providing cross-disciplinary research and teaching facilities, a “hacker” space, a virtual reality lab and more.