Our Stories
Design and innovation—that’s our thing. But we don't to 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 Quantam Startup Foundry participated in the Teaching and Learning Studio (TLS) in summer 2024.
Celebrating 10(+1) years of AIE
We celebrated 10(+1) years of innovating with UMD students, staff, and faculty by hosting our “10(+1) Unconventional Convention.
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
Innovation Studio 2024
The Innovation Studio @ NOI+F is an ongoing partnership between the National Orchestral Institute and Festival and the Academy for Innovation and Entrepreneurship. This initiative began back in 2017 to work with the concept of “reimagining the future of the orchestra.” Each year of the program is informed by the prior year and continues to build on this concept and what is learned from each year of experimentation.
Xperience x AIE
How might improv, talking to strangers, and framing problems from the point of view of a squirrel prepare students to tackle Grand Challenges? This semester, Academy team members Christina Hnatov and Erica Estrada-Liou have been working with Gerald Suárez, Martha Wang and the Xperience Program to teach its inaugural course, XPER433, inviting students to come together across disciplines to innovate as they tackle Grand Challenges.
The Academy’s Partnership with HHS
In January, the Academy partnered with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Administration for Children and Families (ACF) to kickoff their Innovation Accelerator where teams across HHS ACF came together to learn human-centered design to address real-world challenges.