SINGAPORE — Singapore’s media authorities Wednesday unveiled a new phase in a multimillion dollar digital media development strategy designed to add S$10 billion ($6.5 billion) to the value of the country’s media industry and create about 10,000 new jobs by 2015.
Four areas of the new research and development initiative are animation, games and effects, media intermediary (technology) and “on-the-move” media services, according to the Media Development Authority of Singapore.
The Interactive and Digital Media (IDM) Research & Development Program Office, which is responsible for the digital drive, also called for more participation from local and international research and development communities to “help spur the growth of the IDM sector and transform it into a key driving engine of the Singapore economy.”
The announcement follows last year’s establishment of a $325 million fund for the development of a strategic IDM research program over the next five years.
The MDA said that the four focus areas “are formulated to create an effective IDM eco-system involving all stakeholders, including industry players, institutes of higher learning, consumers and the public sector.”
Deals already done as part of the digital drive launched last year include October’s establishment of the Singapore-MIT International Game Lab between the MDA and Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Further opportunities with research institutes around the world are being explored, the MDA said.
Other new developments include a new platform that will allow consumers around the world to contribute digital ideas and participate in the research and development process. Tests are set for this month and the platform is scheduled for a full-scale launch in July.
