Innovative Crowdfunding Month Underway at University of Texas (Dallas)'s ATEC

DALLAS, Nov. 12, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Arts & Technology Program (ATEC) at the University of Texas in Dallas (UTD) (www.utdallas.edu/atec) has launched ATEC Crowdfunding Month, an innovative undertaking to bring awareness to on-campus crowdfunding campaigns being run by and/or assisted by its faculty and students.

With the support of UTD-ATEC faculty, the program is directed by ATEC Associate Director Roger Malina and  spearheaded by David Marlett, a UTD PhD student in Immersive Cinema and a Research Fellow in the ArtSciLab of ATEC (www.dmarlett.com), and the Executive Director of the National Crowdfunding Association (www.NLCFA.org).  "There are many terrific crowdfunding programs popping up at universities across the globe," said Marlett.  "That goes for UTD as well, which is looking to launch an on-campus crowdfunding platform in 2015. One thing that makes ATEC Crowdfunding Month unique is that it is platform agnostic, in that the campaigns can be on whatever platform the student or faculty member wishes." (This year's campaigns are on Kickstarter and Indiegogo.)

This year's ATEC Crowdfunding Month (according to Marlett's knowledge) is the first such program at an American university: where a set month is declared to promote the campaigns running on that campus at that time. "This makes it easier for the university as a whole to support and promote the student and faculty campaigns, and helps coordinate some of the otherwise duplicative efforts among the campaigns themselves," added Marlett.

"This could be expanded regionally, nationally, or even internationally, to become an annual month for highlighting crowdfunding campaigns being run for student and faculty projects, including projects in the arts, technology, and certainly for research," said Marlett. "We're excited by the possibilities."

Dr. Roger Malina, Arts and Technology Distinguished Chair, and Associate Director of ATEC, runs the ATEC-ArtSciLab in which the idea for a ATEC Crowdfunding Month was born. "We are enthused to have this going and to see how it will work," said Malina. "Besides being beneficial for the projects themselves, it gives us a great opportunity to help our students learn crowdfunding and crowdsourcing methodologies. That experience could be invaluable in their future endeavors."

The UTD-ATEC Crowdfunding Month campaigns are accessible from the ATEC webpage, available at www.utdallas.edu/atec.  This year's four projects are:

• CREATIVE DISTURBANCE  --  ATEC students and faculty seek $20,000 for an international network and podcast platform supporting collaboration among the arts, sciences and new technologies communities.
• INNERSPACE  --  ATEC students seek $25,000 to complete their highly stylized and original independent video game.
• 3D360 FOR BLUE HIGHWAY  --  An ATEC student seeks $12,000 for 360 degree / 3D camera equipment to film shorts from a feature length film for the Oculus Rift.
• UP IN THE AIR, DOWN ON THE GROUND – An ATEC student seeks $6,000 for a short, light-hearted animated film. 

Crowdfunding is not new to UTD-ATEC students. Among prior campaigns, a 2013 one stands out. In that case, four UTD-ATEC animation students successfully crowdfunded their web-based, animated series, The Cyanide and Happiness Show, raising $770,000, which was in excess of 300% of their $250,000 target.

Crowdfunding has become a central and essential tool for raising both funds and customer/audience awareness for innovative art and technological ideas and products. It is estimated that over $5B was raised worldwide in 2013 through crowdfunding, with the estimate for 2014 put north of $8B.  "With the support of the 'crowd', these projects will all be successful," concluded Marlett, "and we will have further developed our model for crowdfunding on university campuses."

Contact:
David Marlett
[email protected] 
214-676-6140

Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20141112/158296LOGO

SOURCE National Crowdfunding Association

WANT YOUR COMPANY'S NEWS FEATURED ON PRNEWSWIRE.COM?

440k+
Newsrooms &
Influencers

9k+
Digital Media
Outlets

270k+
Journalists
Opted In

GET STARTED