The Post-Standard's Dave Tobin has a profile of two Syracuse University Graduate students who are developing a video game that allows players to draw their own characters. The idea's gained some traction from venture capitalists - albeit in sort of a weird way:
Take how they found their biggest investor. Christmas Eve, Chenell received an email he thought was a prank. “Merry Christmas graFighters” was the subject line. “Awesome project and progress in such a short term!” it began. The writer identified himself as a partner in a venture capital firm in Switzerland focusing on early-stage startups in Europe. “Want to discuss how we can help you,” it said. The signature was “Father Christmas” with an address on Skype, the Internet conferencing service. Chenell, at his family’s house, immediately called Cleckner at his family’s house to figure out what was going on. The writer was Djois Sronipah, a partner in a firm called X.Million Capital Ventures. He contacted Cleckner and Chenell after seeing their 30-second video on Kickstarter.com, a web site where entrepreneurial artists try to raise money for creative projects.
So if that's the cutting edge, here's the opposite: a University at Buffalo student who runs OldVersion.com, which retools "vintage" software for users who don't want to upgrade. Stephen T. Watson at the Buffalo News reports:
"I think that's pretty impressive," said Paul Fanara, president and founder of Aspire Technology Solutions in Buffalo. "He's just got entrepreneurial spirit. Obviously, it showed at a young age." [Alexander] Levine hasn't made Facebook-type money from the business, but he has raised enough from ads on the site to pay his tuition and living expenses while in college. He can't charge users to download the software because of licensing issues, but the site makes money from ads. "Even Microsoft advertises on our site," Levine said.
And speaking of the University at Buffalo, the school spent Friday thanking its partners in the business world at its annual "Partners Day," reports Stephen T. Watson at the Buffalo News. Meg Rossman of YNN has video of the event.
SUNY economic impact
The Times Union has a column by University at Albany Rockefeller Institute director Thomas Gais, who argues that higher education is the key to economic development:
They pack a double punch; they are the source of the new knowledge needed to produce high-paying jobs in the innovation economy -- and they are the key to developing a workforce prepared to take those jobs. Increasingly, our research has found, states are responding by putting their higher education systems, and not real estate deals, in the lead. Georgia, to use one telling example, moved its economic development office to the Georgia Tech campus. Across the country, higheredis putting its research and educational power to work by developing new ideas, helping to deploy inventions for commercial use, educating potential entrepreneurs, helping businesses prepare workers for advanced tasks, and fostering a quality of life that is essential for economic growth. This is "A New Paradigm for Economic Development" -- the title we gave last year to a report on this national trend.
Gais' thesis is that New York's investments in SUNY are a sound strategy for economic revitalization. This comes on the heels of SUNY's estimate of its economic impact on the state, at about $20 billion, which you can read here. And you can find that "New Paradigm" report here [PDF].
Out of service
Our last higher education story for today is about economics - the economics of bathrooms. Debbie Swartz reports at the Press & Sun-Bulletin that Binghamton University is closing 27 bathrooms across campus, in the hopes that not maintaining them will save some cash. Submitted without comment.
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