Issue link: https://nebusinessmedia.uberflip.com/i/688926
2016 | Doing Business in Connecticut 35 "Makers today produce beautiful graph- ics, time-based media and understand well how to lay out a page in an app or website." So, the Department of Digital Media and Design ended up in the university's School of Fine Arts. One of Hunter's favorite parts of the pro- gram is its multi-disciplinary makeup. Pro- fessors from the engineering school helped build the department's labs; business school professors aided in course design; students and faculty now partner with biologists. "It's a perfect example of a collaborative effort to stand up a program that really not only benefits the students, but benefits the state of Connecticut from the standpoint that most of our students go to work at businesses in the state or are forming businesses in or around the state," Hunter said. While the program is officially part of the School of Fine Arts, the department has its home in the Digital Media and Design Center at UConn's Storrs campus. It includes multiple studios, including state-of-the-art Mac and PC labs, a video production studio, a rendering and production facility, a green screen production studio and an audio lab with space for voice over work, plus digital and analog mixing. While there is of course work on televi- sion and film production, Hunter says there's a concerted effort to think about how these technologies can be applied in non-traditional ways. Some of the students studying digitiza- tion, for example, are working with university scientists to create digital mock-ups of mouse cells. Students in the program's web and mobile app development course have worked with a local food bank to create a mobile app that helps workers track the intake and output of food. "So you can see how something that most people would think of as an entertainment tool or for special effects, can also be used for important work in life sciences and civil society," Hunter said. "We try to bring these opportunities into the program so students and faculty can collaborate with university researchers to develop tools that have a sig- nificant positive impact on society." e multi-disciplinary work has caught the eye of businesses from a range of fields that find value in this work. Hunter says companies from industries such as health care, insurance and aerospace have recruited students from the program. Corporate partners of the department include Boston Children's Hospital, Cigna and UTC Aerospace Systems. After the 2015 school year, Hunter said about 25 stu- dents already had jobs lined up before their graduation day. George Norfleet, director of the state's Office of Film, Television and Digital Media — which works to promote the sector in Con- necticut — says one of the concerns he hears from businesses is that they are constantly searching for qualified workers. "is program is really a win-win be- cause it trains students to work in this indus- try, and it's showing the industry that we are developing young talent," Norfleet said. In 2012, when the program initially got underway, Hunter had 24 students registered for digital media classes. e next year when the Connecticut Board of Regents approved the program's ability to award degrees, there were 46 students — and the next year 144. In 2015 it grew to more than 300 students taking classes in the department, with 16 students enrolled in graduate degree programs set to earn a Master in Fine Arts. e department plans to serve 400 students in the 2016-2017 academic year. e program is not just growing in the number of students, but geographically, as well. It started out at UConn's main campus in Storrs but in 2013 the department began offering courses in Stamford. Hunter expects about a quarter of the students in the program to take courses at the department's Stamford Campus in 2016-2017. e DMD (Digital Media and Design Center) also has a close working relationship with the state and Norfleet's office. For two years the university and state have partnered to offer Digital Media CT, a summer program that trains participants of any age for digital media jobs. at program has doubled to about 70 students in two years, according to Hunter. e growth in interest among students in the program is matched by the demand from the industry to develop this young talent. "is is a sector that's really thirsting for terrific employees," Hunter said. "And when you look at the salaries, you realize these are really significant jobs that we're preparing students for." ❑ ' This is a sector that's really thirsting for terrific employees. ' — tim HuNter, professor aNd departmeNt Head, diGital media & desiGN at ucoNN