Design and innovation—that’s our thing. But we don't do it alone. From curious students to bold faculty partners, we collaborate with thinkers and doers from every corner of campus to turn big ideas into real-world impact. This space is where we share stories of creativity, collaboration, and the unexpected moments that design brings to life. Dive in and explore how innovation unfolds in classrooms, across disciplines, and out in the world; one experiment at a time.
Featured Stories
Anntoinette Barbour Reimagining How She Works
Anntoinette from the Quantum Startup Foundry participated in the Teaching and Learning Studio (TLS) in summer 2024.
From Peer Innovation Coach to Game Creator
What starts in The Loft doesn’t stay there! Xinyi Zhang turned a heartfelt chat into Sea My Culture—a vibrant board game celebrating global cultures.
500 friends but no one to play with
In a digital age, how do we truly connect with ourselves and others in intentional ways? IDEA360: 500 friends but no one to play with is a course that explores this question and more.
Stories of collaboration and experimentation
Asynchronous Learning Isn’t Living Up to its Potential
Asynchronous learning is full of untapped potential.But it’s stuck in an endless loop of lecture video > reading > discussion post > quiz.For students, it's full of formulaic discussion boards with one initial post and two required replies to your peers. It’s hundreds of hours of lecture vi...View Article Details for Asynchronous Learning Isn’t Living Up to its Potential 
Experiment. Stay present. Cultivate joy.
If you’ve run into me since I got back from Spain, there’s a very good chance that the first thing I shared about my time there was how amazing the students were. Followed by how excited I am about the learning that happened. Then, finally, gushing about the joy of spending a few weeks in Spain. It ...View Article Details for Experiment. Stay present. Cultivate joy. 
Curiosity Created a Class
Christina Hnatov and I walked across the University of Maryland campus to grab bubble tea, chatting about knitting, grading, birding, the solar system, and course assignments. This was typical for our conversations: jumping from topic to topic, sharing things that caught our attention in an unstruct...View Article Details for Curiosity Created a Class Navigating Change with Design
Recently I had the honor of participating in a panel during the 3rd annual TerrapinSTRONG symposium here at the University of Maryland. The topic of this year’s symposium was Navigating Change: Turning Disruption into Direction, and the panel I participated in was titled Building Capacity: Supportin...View Article Details for Navigating Change with Design