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B.C.'s New Media Industry Receives $1.6 Million
Allan Rock, Minister of Industry, Herb Dhaliwal, Minister of Natural Resources and Stephen Owen, Secretary of State (Western Economic Diversification) (Indian Affairs and Northern Development) today announced three initiatives worth a total of $1.6 million in funding from Western Economic Diversification Canada (WD) to support the growth and development of the new media industry in British Columbia.
The funding announced today includes $828,000 for an Immersive Media Laboratory, $750,000 for a Human Computer Interaction Laboratory - both of which are being developed as part of British Columbia's leading-edge new media research institution, the New Media Innovation Centre (NewMIC) - along with $81,500 to New Media BC, the industry association established to represent BC's new media companies and entrepreneurs.
"The HCI lab will strengthen NewMIC's capacity as a global leader in new media," said Minister Rock. "NewMIC is a catalyst for innovation and economic growth in the new media sector across B.C and Western Canada, and is a strategic investment in Canada's innovation capability."
"The benefits of today's announcement go beyond this one industry," added Herb Dhaliwal, Minister of Natural Resources Canada. "Advancements in the New Media industry will lead to innovative applications in other sectors-and we're keeping a creative community of innovators here at home in British Columbia and in Canada."
"This is just one of the many examples of how partnerships between industry, university and government play an integral role in the Government of Canada's commitment to economic development," said Secretary of State Owen. "Through support for innovation, the strategic development of industry clusters, and generating and fostering opportunities for knowledge workers, WD opens the doors for regional industrial innovation, synergy and collaboration."
As part of today's announcement, WD is contributing $828,000 to NewMIC to fully configure an Immersive Media Lab (IML). This funding, which augments an initial WD contribution of $1million for this facility, announced in March 2001, will allow NewMIC researchers and industry partners to conduct research into virtual and collaborative environments and advanced visualization techniques
that can benefit any industry that relies on complex data, such as bioinformatics, mining and aerospace. NewMIC identified the IML as vital infrastructure needed to attract and retain world-class researchers
Today's announcement also includes $750,000 for the establishment of a state-of-the-art Human Computer Interaction Laboratory (HCI). This facility will give academic researchers and industry product development teams at NewMIC the capability to assess human responses to new technology by placing the end user at the centre of the design process and incorporating feedback into all stages of product development. This information will be used to develop the next generation of user-friendly new media products and services.
NewMIC President and CEO Shahid Hussain, who joined Ministers Rock and Owen in opening the HCI Lab, emphasized the importance of collaborative research and development. "NewMIC and the Government of Canada, through the financial support of WD and the expertise of the National Research Council of Canada's Industrial Research Assistance Program, are working together to help small and medium-sized businesses in Western Canada flourish and commercialize new products through an innovative R&D collaborative model that provides access to new ideas and technologies, uniquely qualified professionals and state-of-the-art facilities."
A contribution of $81,500 has also been invested into New Media BC, a provincial industry association representing over 150 new media companies and over 100 individuals in British Columbia involved in all sectors of new media. The funding will assist in the development and implementation of a strategic business plan that will expand and enhance the association's range of activities in support of its members and growth of the new media industry.
"In the past few years WD has helped the new media industry grow, which is indicated by the 130% growth of New Media BC in the last year," says Bijan Sanii, Vice Chair of New Media BC and President/CEO of IDELIX Software. "We are delighted to receive funding and look forward to a close collaboration with NewMIC to continue building a strong and vital new media industry."
New Media BC and NewMIC will work closely together to provide a synergistic environment for industrial and academic research and collaboration, maximizing benefits and joint resources.
For additional information, contact:
Selena Beattie
Office of Allan Rock
Minister of Industry
(613) 995-9001
Jean-Pierre Roy
Manager, Communications
Western Economic Diversification Canada
Vancouver, British Columbia
Phone: (604) 666-1318
Heather Bala
Office of Herb Dhaliwal
Minister of Natural Resources
(613) 996-2007
Erica Branda
Business Development and Communications Officer
NewMIC
Tel: 604-806-5113
erica.branda@newmic.com
NewMIC website: www.newmic.com
WD Toll-Free Number:1-888-338-WEST (9378)
Teletypewriter (TTY): 1-877-303-3388
WD Website: www.wd-deo.gc.ca.
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Backgrounder
NewMIC - New Media Innovation Centre
The New Media Innovation Centre (NewMIC) is a groundbreaking collaboration between industry, academia and government that focuses on the research, development and commercialization of cutting-edge new media technology. It brings technology developers together with artists, industry researchers, academics, multinational companies and with entrepreneurs. These new media players share resources, learn from one another and push the boundaries of how we think about and use new media.
How does NewMIC work?
NewMIC's sustaining members are multinational companies that bring a global business perspective to NewMIC. Each sustaining member sponsors a research cluster in which industry researchers, university professors and graduate and undergraduate students collaborate on topics that are important to industry. This results in new knowledge, new technologies and a stream of highly qualified personnel graduating from NewMIC's academic members.
Collaboration also takes place between multinational companies, across clusters, across universities, across disciplines. This open environment encourages idea sharing and sets the stage for innovation.
What are the benefits?
NewMIC will help position British Columbia and Canada as world-class players on the new media stage. It plays a key role in:
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Increasing the quantity and quality of new media researchers and faculty members in Western Canada by helping to attract the best new media researchers to Western Canada and by training the next generation of new media researchers.
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Creating job opportunities in the growing field of new media by developing new technology and spin-off companies from ideas cultivated at NewMIC and supporting and incubating emerging technology businesses.
Human Computer Interaction (HCI) Capability at NewMIC
NewMIC now has the capability to study and assess the human interaction with, and response to, technology. It will enable a user-centred design process from product conceptualization through iterative prototyping to usability testing on multiple platforms and networks.
The physical assets currently include a main usability lab and control room plus two other areas that have been equipped with cameras and microphones: the immersive media lab and the "living/office of the future" where studies can take place in simulated environments. The 18ft x 24ft usability lab can be used for focus groups, collaborative group work or converted to individual workstations. The entire site will be networked to other offsite and onsite laboratories including the NewMIC/WINBC wireless lab and the CANARIE research network through BCNET.
Equipment and software that is currently available includes:
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Usability testing logging and control system by Ovo Studio (http://www.ovostudios.com/). This allows developers to get instant feedback and reports on users responses to their product with accompanying audio/video recordings and monitor feeds all on a CD.
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Video Editing suite including Adobe Premier.
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Full camera coverage of usability room plus overhead and face cameras. All have remote pan, tilt and zoom capabilities. Lipstick cameras for PDA/cell phone studies.
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Electronic white board (http://www.smarttech.com/).
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Room (omnidirectional boundary) and lapel microphones.
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Six digital recorders for video, audio or data.
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Noldus Observer behavioural analysis software (http://www.noldus.com/).
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Perseus Survey/questionnaire design and administration software (http://www.perseus.com/).
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Statistical analysis package: SPSS.
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Prototyping software: Visio, Macromedia Director, VB.
Infrastructure includes a range of platforms, servers, operating systems, networks and storage. Details provided on request.
1 Wireless Innovation Network Society of B.C.
2 CANARIE Inc. - Canada's advanced Internet development organization - is a not-for-profit corporation supported by its members, project partners and the Federal Government.
New Media BC
About New Media BC
New Media BC is a not-for-profit association whose mission is to provide leadership and build synergies between stakeholders to grow the new media industry. Through networking events, Special Interest Group seminars, advocacy work, and marketing, New Media BC is building the new media community locally and promoting it abroad. The region's new media industry is prospering in a dynamic climate with annual revenues in excess of $1 billion.
New Media BC has over 150 member companies and has grown 130% over the last year. Our members comprise software developers, e-commerce enablers, web and animation designers, Internet marketing strategists, incubators, game developers, special effects, and other interactive product and content developers.
We market our members through a variety of channels including the New Media BC website, our newsletter and the New Media BC NewsPak - a bi-monthy compilation of member press releases. We also perform advocacy work on behalf of our members by sitting on provincial and federal government committees and by making policy recommendations that benefit the industry.
Our events have been recognized as 'must attends' in the community as they provide opportunities for networking as well as topical information to keep our members on the leading edge of the digital revolution. Over 25 events a year attract 75 -100 people each time and are made up of senior-level managers who are seeking the latest information to take their companies farther faster.
Please visit our web site: http://www.newmediabc.com/
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