Software company seeks
talent from university’s
media academy
With an ever growing number of computers and video game systems creating a demand for his software development company's products, Mark Loughridge has no shortage of jobs to fill.
He needs talented workers, and as he looks to establish a main office for his Backbone Entertainment in Hawaii, he'd like to find them here.
Now the University of Hawaii's new Academy for Creative Media is helping Loughridge and other employers in media and software businesses fulfill that goal.
The program -- which began in the fall and was given final approval by the university's Board of Regents last month -- has 70 students working on projects in everything from digital film, television and video game production to content creation, screenwriting, storytelling and computer science.
As the program gets going, lawmakers have before them this session a supplemental budget request from the university seeking about $750,000 for the academy in the upcoming fiscal year.
Loughridge was among those who last week briefed lawmakers on the benefits of developing a talent pool in Hawaii.
"To say yes to all the projects that are coming our way, we'd have to double in size," Loughridge said. "I want to staff up here and I'm able to do that because of a program like this, where I can be in touch with who's the best talent in what all across the system."
Backbone, which creates educational and entertainment software under the Digital Eclipse, ImaginEngine and Games2Learn names, was among several Hawaii companies identified in a study by private economic development organization Enterprise Honolulu as one that would benefit from the products and talent being developed by the academy.
University of Hawaii