Columbia's Fu Foundation School of Engineering is one of the six national Engineering Research Centers selected by the National Science Foundation for major funding in May 1985. It is a multi-disciplinary center focusing on the future integration of telecommunications networks. Additionally, the MMA provides networking opportunities and a learning environment for current students, as well as for alumni in the media, by coordinating media-related resources with other schools of the University, and by sponsoring tours, guest speakers and panel discussions. Library Resources and Databases A growing library collection supports the Institute's research activities. In addition to books, numerous consulting studies, government reports, academic papers, and international materials are available to academic researchers and affiliated organizations.
Research assistants regularly review several dozen trade publications for clipping.
The Institute for Learning Technologies, founded in 1986 at Teacher's College Columbia University, works to advance the role of computers and other information technologies in education and society. The Columbia University Center for New Media is a working laboratory for developing new forms of storytelling, new ways of presenting information that will transform all means of communication. The operational functions and organizational structures of this environment will teach much about how to structure, store, shape, create and distribute digital information. The Annenberg Washington Program in Communications Policy Studies of Northwestern University provides a neutral forum, open to diverse opinion, for assessing the impact of communications technologies and public policies. The Program serves as a bridge between policymakers, industry officials, academics, the press, and the public.