Indiana University will collaborate with Schurz Communications, an Indiana-based multimedia company, on an innovation challenge beginning this semester. Hoosier undergraduates, graduate students and faculty will be asked to consider real-world digital solutions and opportunities for 21st-century media companies. There will be sizable cash prizes for winning prototypes that meet agreed guidelines.
Beyond money and resume enhancement, participating students will be competing for local, statewide and national media recognition, as Schurz Communications operates cable, high-speed data, TV, radio, print and digital (mobile, social and desktop) media businesses in Indiana and across the U.S. Winning innovators will have opportunities to advance their ideas, as Schurz and its investment partners are actively seeking early-stage technologies.
To enliven projects, the IU School of Informatics and Computing will receive custom feeds, application programming interfaces and real-world datasets from Schurz Communications’ wide array of media businesses and vendors.
“This partnership provides an amazing opportunity for our students to both learn and innovate around the world of information and media concepts provided by Schurz,” said Dennis Groth, the school’s associate dean for undergraduate studies. “Key to the partnership is the interaction between our students and Schurz professionals, which creates a winning combination of access to information, experience in media and information delivery, and innovative ideas from skilled and energized students.”