The University of Colorado-Denver announced the opening of a new facility that combines media, technology, and entrepreneurship. According to the Denver Post, the Comcast Corporation donated $5 million to the university to construct the Comcast Media and Technology Center, an interdisciplinary space for students to mingle with the outside business community.
According to the Denver Business Journal, the Comcast Media and Technology Center will be located in the Tivoli Student Union. The College of Arts and Media has partnered with the College of Engineering and Applied Science to outline a special curriculum for students for the fall. The center will function as a place where students can learn about how to mix technical and creative skills as well as develop new approaches in areas such as research and development, media creation and content delivery.
Philadelphia-based Comcast, which has more than 8,000 employees based in Colorado, made the generous donation as an investment in the future workforce. More importantly, according to Matt McConnell, senior vice president and general manager of Comcast Technology Solutions, students will learn to integrate various skillsets at the new center. Students will gain necessary experience in real-world scenarios that may not happen if, for example, an engineering student is only studying how to write code.
College of Arts & Media Dean Laurence Kaptain said, “If creativity is the currency of the twenty-first century, then academic institutions need to join with media and technology organizations to work toward discovery and excellence in creativity.”
Comcast, as part of its mission to invest in the local technology community, will also offer internships to CU Denver students who are involved with the center. The Comcast Media and Technology Center is set to open in March and will be open to working professionals seeking additional, not-for-credit training as well.
