Last modified: Thursday, December 13, 2007
IU and Sony Electronics announce strategic alliance for HD production projects
Unique agreement for both organizations will advance technology innovation and benefit students, faculty, staff and alumni
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Dec. 13, 2007
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. and PARK RIDGE, N.J. -- Indiana University and Sony Electronics have formed a strategic alliance to explore new applications for high-definition broadcast and media production technologies in higher education, and collaborate on projects that support digital workflows and lifestyles.
Potential research activities to be conducted by Sony and Indiana University include immersive technologies such as virtual reality, 3-D video and 3-D animation, as well as the development of new communications tools to engage teachers and students. Opportunities will exist for faculty and scholarly research, greater insight into students' increasingly digital lifestyles, and for IU student internships.
"Indiana University is pleased to enter into this alliance with an organization such as Sony," said IU President Michael A. McRobbie. "In the rapidly changing, highly digital and interconnected world of technology, partnerships such as these allow for an exciting collaboration of creative and forward-thinking minds -- those who study how today's technology is used and think about innovative ways in which it may be applied, and those with the capabilities and resources to make the myriad of possibilities reality. The opportunities this collaboration allows for Sony and Indiana University are vast."
Sony and IU will explore academic uses of current and new Sony products, and also will consider developing new products to meet specific needs. Technologies involved in this non-exclusive alliance will include Sony's full line of HD broadcast and production products, such as studio and field cameras, the XDCAM HD line of optical disc-based camcorders and decks, and more.
"There are tremendous opportunities in education for applications of Sony technologies, and we are excited to be exploring them with Indiana University," said John Scarcella, president of Sony Electronics' Broadcast and Business Solutions Company. "Their expertise in higher education and technology implementation is a perfect complement to our resources. Through this alliance, we can hopefully expose other schools to new ways of working with technology, and also build new customer relationships in other markets."
The agreement also will benefit students, faculty and staff on all IU campuses, as well as alumni, as Sony will be offering special prices on select Sony consumer electronics products.
Brad Wheeler, IU vice president for information technology and CIO, said, "I am delighted that IU and Sony have engaged in this alliance. It covers critical areas of technology and media upgrades, and more importantly, it brings together the capabilities of two incredible organizations."
Departments across the university will transition to high definition media in the near future.
"The alliance is a dramatic opportunity to improve service to our viewers," said Perry Metz, executive director of IU Radio and Television Services. "It already has paid dividends through our recent purchase of quality high-def equipment for WTIU. We're indebted to Jay Kincaid for his original idea of a broad IU academic alliance with Sony Electronics. As a WTIU director with years of national and Olympics experience, he envisioned a series of ways IU faculty and staff could work cooperatively with Sony Electronics."
The development of the alliance was led for IU by the Office of the Vice President for Information Technology and the IU Purchasing Department, with participation from several IU units. A working group coordinated by leaders in University Information Technology Services (UITS) will ensure ongoing coordination with Sony, as the organizations develop processes to identify potential areas of joint research and other mutually beneficial activities.
