Innovation space launched at MediaCityUK

The University of Salford has launched an innovative space at MediaCityUK to encourage imagination, free thinking and collaboration between researchers and technology businesses.

The Adobe Research Hotel is designed to bring together innovators from a range of backgrounds to work on research projects using leading edge hardware and software from partners Adobe, HP and NVIDIA.

Accommodating 16 ‘guests’ at a time, with stays ranging from one day to three months, the Hotel is open to applications from within the University and from outside researchers and organisations, with residencies granted following a competitive pitching process.

One of the projects already undertaken at the Adobe Research Hotel involved students testing Adobe Anywhere for video, a new collaborative workflow platform for users of professional Adobe video products, prior to its launch. The University was the only education institution in the world to pilot the software in advance of it going to market.

To fully test the capabilities of the software, students entered a competition to produce a short film, with undergraduate winner James Craven and postgraduate winner Claire Chambers (pictured) receiving prizes of Adobe Creative multimedia design software. The runners-up were Charles Leek and James McAllister, who each received a one year membership of Adobe’s Creative Cloud digital hub.

The launch event was supported with funding from the Information and Communications Technology Knowledge Transfer Network, and academics and representatives from digital and creative companies attended the launch event to discover more about the opportunities available at the Hotel and experience first-hand some of the exciting research happening at the University’s MediaCityUK facility, including augmented reality, 3D and digital platform projects.

University Research & Innovation Manager at MediaCityUK, Mike Hession, said: “We’re hoping to create a genuine community where collaborative relationships can flourish between creative people across traditional disciplinary boundaries, linking the academic and commercial worlds. We’re confident the mix of University staff, students, visiting scholars and industry partners will stimulate new ideas and produce research with real-world impact.”

Simon Williams, Adobe Director of Strategic Relations, said: “The Adobe Research Hotel is a great space which will help bridge the gap between education and the creative industries. The winning work created by James Craven and Claire Chambers in the Adobe Anywhere for video competition is evidence of how students, given the right collaborative environment, can create industry-accredited work.”