DMC

2018/12/27

DMC is the abbreviation for the "Research Institute for Digital Media and Content." Its purpose is to realize international leadership in the creation and distribution of new knowledge through the fusion of various academic fields, regardless of whether they are in the sciences or humanities, and to contribute to the creation of new industries, education, culture, and arts. Its predecessor was the "Digital Media and Content Integrated Research Organization," established in 2004. In 2010, it was reorganized into the current research center, and the following year, in 2011, it moved from the West Annex on the Mita Campus to the West Annex on the Hiyoshi Campus. It is a coincidence, but the fact that it is located in the West Annex on both campuses feels like some kind of special connection. As one of Keio University's affiliated research institutes, DMC, though small in scale, is engaged in a variety of initiatives. Below are three of its main research and educational activities as of 2018.

FutureLearn is a free online lecture delivery provider headquartered in London, UK, with about 160 universities, public institutions, and companies from around the world currently participating. Keio University is the only participant from Japan, and its involvement was realized in 2015 through the passionate efforts of President Akira Haseyama (who was a Vice-President at the time of joining). Since then, under Deputy Director Keiko Okawa, DMC has been in charge of operations. Starting in fiscal year 2016, it has been producing and delivering two new types of lectures annually in collaboration with and commissioned by the faculty members in charge of the lectures, graduate students from the Graduate School of Media Design (KMD), Keio University Press, and others. In August of this year, the total number of learners registered for all six types of lectures delivered by Keio exceeded 50,000, and it continues to grow.

MoSaIC (Museum of Shared and Interactive Cataloguing) makes it possible to create virtual exhibition spaces by giving unique context to digital cultural resources from around the world. Preparations are underway for MoSaIC to contribute to a new exhibition model that fuses analog and digital at the "Keio Museum Commons" (tentative name), scheduled to open in fiscal year 2021.

In addition, based on the specifications for digital cinema equipment proposed by the Digital Cinema Initiatives (DCI) in the United States, DMC conducts compliance certification tests for a fee on equipment requested by digital cinema equipment manufacturers. Only three locations in the world are certified for this, and DMC, as one of them (the others are in the United States), plays an important role.

The annual research results and findings are published through the DMC Symposium, held once a year since fiscal year 2011, and the "DMC Journal," launched as an electronic journal in fiscal year 2013. Other services provided by DMC include the free provision of automatic recording and distribution of lectures and events using the AV Hall at the Hiyoshi Media Center (in collaboration with the Media Center), and high-quality video shooting, editing, and production (for a fee) for research activities and results within Keio.

(Atsutaro Murakami, Administrative Project Director, Jukukan-kyoku (Keio Corporate Administration))