Big Boost for nGen - Three new tenants

Students at Brock University and Niagara College will have access to some of the same technology used on the movie Avatar, as their schools move programs into nGen's offices.

The Niagara Interactive Media Generator is celebrating the grand opening of its state-of-the-art digital media facility later this week, coinciding with the welcoming of three new tenants — Brock, Niagara College and the company 211 Interactive.

Executive director of nGen Jeff Chesebrough said the technology will be integrated into students' curriculum so when they come out of school they're trained.

"Some of them will have entrepreneurial spirit and will want to start their own company, but at the same time we've got companies here that are taking off that are going to need to hire an employee," he said.

"Being able to train them while they're in school and be job-ready is the goal."

Brock will offer a course at nGen in the fall for students in the interactive arts and science program on advanced digital media.

Niagara College's School of Media Studies will open a centre — interactive Niagara College — to provide local companies access to applied research opportunities and students the ability to work with businesses in the fields of media, design and game development.

Niagara College's chairwoman of media studies, Annette Hemerik, said the partnership will give students the opportunity to work with tenants, start-up companies and non-profits.

"Our main objective is our students' need to get that real-life experience," she said by phone from Ottawa.

The college will select six students from a variety of programs to work on extracurricular projects through nGen. The group may grow in the future, Hemerik said.

Chesebrough said when students come to nGen, they'll have access to the new equipment in the facility, for which nGen received more than $3 million from the federal community adjustment fund in September.

Chesebrough said the highly specialized technology includes a motion capture system and specific editing compositing software. There is also a full theatre for classes.

NGen took 7,500 square feet on the second and third floors of One St. Paul St. for the new facility, in addition to its main-floor offices.

It's all part of nGen's mandate to create an interactive media cluster, Chesebrough said. Researchers, students and private companies will use the technology.

"We're a great exporter of talent by having students get trained in Brock and Niagara, but by not having that industry here we export them," Chesebrough said.

"We're seeing people now because of the facility we've built, in Vancouver, Toronto and Montreal contacting us and saying 'Wow, it would be great to get back to Niagara again. What opportunities and what options do you have?'"

Since its inception two years ago, nGen has seen Noise in Niagara, a Niagara College interactive website and music magazine, launched last June. Another interactive game about the War of 1812 is set to go on the iPhone store this month.

Chesebrough said NGen is looking for more projects to partner on with researchers, Brock University, Niagara College and private partners.