NAIT Centre for Innovative Media

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As Alberta seeks to reduce reliance on hydrocarbons, it is essential to support the growth of small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). This proposal focuses on catalyzing productivity in Alberta's $573M Interactive Digital Media (IDM) industry, which is comprised of companies that create digital products for online consumption, such as software, applications, movies, animation and games. The breadth and depth of resources and expertise required to meet their product development needs has prevented the private sector from providing solutions. Creating a Centre for Innovative Media (CIM) will enable NAIT to provide the expertise,**tools and facilities needed to expand its capacity to work with IDM industry partners to enable them to overcome product development and commercialization challenges. CIM will support companies develop and commercialize new digital products supporting technology development from idea and conceptualization, through prototype development and testing to final product development and market launch. The vision for CIM was developed after extensive industry consultation. The CIM team integrates experts in gaming, animation, computer systems, graphic design, web and mobile applications, content development, user**experience and user interface design, application development and testing, communications, story development, storytelling, video production, virtual reality, business development and marketing. NAIT students will be strongly involved in projects. Exposure to real-world industry problems will strengthen their training, creating future creative leaders and entrepreneurs. NAIT has an extensive track record of applied research in this area. Since 2012, it has partnered with industry on more than 350 media-related technology**development projects, involving 550 students and more than a dozen faculty. Although the focus is on small business, NAIT will also partner with large companies in sectors where linking them with small business to enhance the IDM industry value chain and create synergies for SMEs.