Located overlooking busy Dundas Square in the heart of downtown Toronto, Ryerson’s Digital Media Zone is helping provide exciting opportunities for Ryerson students to come together and collaborate on new media projects. On April 7, under the guidance of Valerie Fox, the DMZ (as it is casually referred to) opened its doors to media and the Toronto tech community.
Ryerson President Sheldon Levy spoke about the need to provide opportunities locally for the innovative ideas and businesses these students are creating. He recalled as President of Sheridan College the frustration of seeing graduates head south to the animation studios of Southern California, due to the lack of opportunities locally. Levy also spoke of the challenges that students like Hossein Rahnama face getting attention locally for their projects. Rahnama created a platform that uses smartphones to help users with disabilities find their way through the Paris Métro, and it took the interaction of President Levy to have Metrolinx (formerly the Greater Toronto Transportation Authority) to take a look. Through the Digital Media Zone, Ryerson looks to incubate the innovative ideas into viable businesses that can help keep talent here in Canada.
President Levy personally thanked Delvinia CEO Adam Froman for his contribution to the launch of the DMZ. Delvinia will serve as the primary liaison between the Digital Media Zone and industry partners.
Graduate student Jonathan Ingram spoke about how his experience at the DMZ helped bring his interactive ad projection to reality. Now Jonathan juggles his studies with business trips managing interactive floor displays for such brands as L’Oreal through his company PhosphorusMedia.
Next up was former Ryerson student, Chris Nguyen, who officially announced the launch of TeamSave.com, one of the first projects to be launched from the Digital Media Zone.
The whole team at Delvinia is looking forward to working with the students at the Digital Media Zone on re-imagining the iconic scoreboard and other key areas of the ongoing Maple Leaf Gardens redesign project.