Ohio eNews: IT Alliance of Appalachian Ohio
Author:
February 2007
ITAAO is a regional service and economic development organization supporting the growth and expansion of the information technology industry of the great Ohio Valley of Ohio, West Virginia, and Kentucky. ITAAO websites include www.itaao.net, www.itaao.org, www.itaaojobs.com, www.hightechohio.com, www.ovidtagames.org.
ITAAO, the Information Technology Alliance of Appalachian Ohio, Wednesday received word from US Rep. Zack Space, and U.S. Secretary of Labor, Elaine Chao, of a grant award to ITAAO through the Department of Labor Workforce Innovation in Regional Economic Development (WIRED) initiative, for the development of a Region of Excellence in Interactive Digital Technology. Interactive digital technology encompasses the exploding new industry of computer/video game development, the use of the same technology for education, training, and high risk training through the use of computer simulation and virtual environments, and video animation as is used in many hit movies, such as Cars, the Harry Potter movies, and Spiderman movies. ITAAO will receive $500,000 immediately to begin the development of an implementation plan with the ability to access a 4.5 million dollar balance over the next two years. ITAAO was the successful applicant for a WIRED planning grant in early 2006 for $100,000 that led to this implementation grant. Only 13 regions in the country were awarded these planning grants and this most recent implementation grant.
“ITAAO began developing the concept of a Region of Excellence in Interactive Digital Technology (IDT) three years ago with the first Shawnee Conference on Interactive Digital Technology at Shawnee State University”, said Gary Little, president of ITAAO. “ITAAO, along with colleges, community colleges, universities, economic development organizations, and private companies have been building this concept and the capacity to create a new, high tech, 21st century industry in the region, ever since that initial meeting,” continued Little.
The grant will organize all the region’s interactive digital technology assets into a collaborative effort to build, attract and retain businesses and a high tech workforce in computer programming, computer animation, digital graphics, design, story telling, motion capture, and all the related creative skills and technologies necessary for the growth of this new industry. Some of these regional assets include Shawnee State University’s two new computer game development degree programs, Kent State University Tuscarawas campus computer animation degree programs, Ohio University Scripps College of Communication Game Research and Immersive Design(GRID) Lab, Ohio University College of Engineering and OU College of Education VITAL Lab, and the College of Fine Arts Aesthetic Technologies Lab, Washington State Community College’s Digital Graphics degree, the OU Voinovich Center’s Entrepreneur Signature Grant from the Ohio Third Frontier Initiative which is focusing on interactive digital technology entrepreneurship, and Adena Ventures who has invested in computer game development companies in the region.
“A 21st century economy of high paying, high tech jobs is possible in our beautiful hill country. Creative communities are growing nationwide in pleasant, relaxing, and life-fulfilling environments and there is no reason high tech creative communities in the computer/video game and serious games industry canít grow right here in Appalachian Ohio,” said Little.
