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UCF Welcomes New Partners, Programs to Downtown Emerging Media Center
By Christine Dellert Oct. 26, 2009
Photo: UCF News File
The Center for Emerging Media expands Orlando's digital media and and simulation presence.
Seed NewsvineThe University of Central Florida expanded its downtown digital media and simulation presence Monday as the school welcomed several new partners to its Center for Emerging Media.
Among the new programs that will be housed at the downtown campus is a research and teaching center from the University of Florida’s College of Design, Construction and Planning named Citylab-Orlando.
Citylab-Orlando joins UCF’s MFA in Studio Art & the Computer program and Flying Horse Editions, UCF’s nonprofit fine arts press, at the downtown center. Its new facilities include a state-of-the-art digital imaging lab and private studio and printing press space, all totaling about 12,500 square feet.
The Center for Emerging Media’s mission is to expand programs, access and opportunities for upper-level undergraduate and graduate emerging media students in Orlando, while furthering the city’s vision for a Creative Village that will connect professionals with students to help them land high-paying jobs upon graduation.
“Our new partners will strengthen UCF’s academic offerings and this state-of-the-art center’s important role as an economic driver for downtown Orlando and the Central Florida region,” said UCF Provost and Executive Vice President Terry Hickey. “We look forward to providing more hands-on educational opportunities that help our students secure high-paying jobs in a variety of high-tech fields.”
The center is already home to UCF’s Florida Interactive Entertainment Academy -- a graduate video-gaming school -- and other digital media and arts programs for students and the community.
The center also houses Vicon Entertainment’s House of Moves, one of the largest studios on the East Coast that virtually captures human movement for creating movies or video games, and a professional sound stage for student and commercial use. Projects completed at the center include motion capture for “Hannah Montana: The Movie” video game and a Gillette national advertising campaign featuring Derek Jeter, Roger Federer and Tiger Woods.
“The expansion of the Center for Emerging Media further cements downtown Orlando as a destination for the digital media industry,” said Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer. “Since its inception, the center has been successful at drawing new digital media partners and programs to downtown Orlando, with Citylab-Orlando being the latest example.
“The combination of the center’s educational resources and our community’s leading digital media companies continues to make Orlando an attractive location for future opportunities,” he added.
UF’s Citylab-Orlando will bring about 50 students and four faculty members to the center. Through the center, faculty and students from UF and UCF will have opportunities to collaborate. The program already is working on different uses for future public space under Interstate 4 in downtown Orlando, dubbed the city’s “Bridge District,” and will address various community design projects through grants, contract work, pro-bono projects, continuing education classes, exhibits and lectures.
“Citylab-Orlando provides our students a unique opportunity to engage in the work of building in a great city and to learn by doing,” said Christopher Silver, dean of the UF College of Design, Construction and Planning.
University leaders also plan to expand community research programs, including the UCF College of Arts and Humanities’ Center for Research and Education in Arts, Technology and Entertainment (CREATE). Other existing academic programs at the center are UCF Film and Digital Media Visual Language.
UCF leaders, with support from the City of Orlando, officially renamed the former Expo Centre the UCF Center for Emerging Media last year.
Emerging media, which often combines the study of technology and humanities, includes fields such as animation, architecture, film production and electronic music.
To learn more about UCF’s Center for Emerging Media, visit http://www.cem.ucf.edu.
UCF Stands For Opportunity: The University of Central Florida is a metropolitan research university that ranks as the third largest in the nation with more than 53,500 students. UCF's first classes were offered in 1968. The university offers impressive academic and research environments that power the region's economic development. UCF's culture of opportunity is driven by our diversity, Orlando environment, history of entrepreneurship and our youth, relevance and energy. For more information visit http://news.ucf.edu.
