Brown Institute for Media Innovation

Established in 2012, the David and Helen Gurley Brown Institute is a collaboration between Columbia University and Stanford University, designed to encourage and support new endeavors in media innovation. At Stanford, the primary focus is on media technology, and the Institute is anchored in the School of Engineering. At Columbia, the primary focus is on content, and the Institute is anchored in the Graduate School of Journalism.

To achieve its goals, the Brown Institute operates as an academic venture forum. Once per year, we invite the Columbia and Stanford communities to submit proposals for Magic Grants. We look for ideas that are original and have the potential to bring true innovation in the media world. Typically, a Magic Grant supports a small team of graduate or postgraduate students who are expected to demonstrate the relevance and viability of their ideas by implementing a prototype or creating an innovative media product. Successful projects might continue as business ventures outside the universities.

The Institute also awards fellowships; Brown Fellows are postgraduate or graduate students who support the Institute together with their peers and the directors, while working towards engineering prototypes, creating innovative media products, or carrying out related research. Brown Fellows are appointed annually for the academic year; their terms can be renewed.