Innovation Fellowship
AIE's Innovation Fellows program is an opportunity for UMD staff and graduate students from any unit or department to learn design and innovation mindsets, tools, and processes. Fellows will learn by doing and collaborating with others in a series of in-person studio sessions throughout the semester.
What's Involved
Depending on the semester, UMD staff and graduate students can join a cohort of Fellows in one of the experiences detailed below. Note: Click each offering below to expand and read more
At a glance
Apply design thinking / innovation tools on current project(s) of your choosing. The core of the Works in Progress (WiP) Studio is participation in 7 learning community sessions with peers where you'll provide and receive mentorship, coaching, and accountability to support each other's learning and emerging design practices. In alternating weeks you'll experiment with design tools and methods by applying them to your project(s) in progress.
It's helpful, but not required, to have some prior experience with design thinking, human-centered design methodologies, or User Experience/User Interface Design. These can be gained through coursework, boot camps, workshops, or other Innovation Fellowship programs (i.e. Becoming a Design Thinker).
The details
Learning Community meetings
In Fall 2024 sessions will occur Fridays on the following dates:
- September 6, 9:00 am–12:00 pm (breakfast included)
- September 20, 10:00 am–12:00 pm
- October 4, 10:00 am–12:00 pm
- October 18, 10:00 am–12:00 pm
- November 1, 10:00 am–12:00 pm
- November 15, 10:00 am–12:00 pm
- December 6, 9:00 am–12:00 pm (lunch included)
Sessions will be held in the Edward St. John Learning & Teaching Center and in person attendance is required.
During these meetings you'll work closely with other fellows (staff and graduate students across campus). You'll provide and receive mentoring, coaching, and accountability that supports each other's learning and emerging design practices.
Fieldwork
You'll set aside time on your own outside of learning community sessions with assigned and structured "experiments". These will help you frame design problems within projects you're currently working on, create your own work plans, learning outcomes, and milestones to determine the form and content of the work you'll engage in across the semester. Example milestones include qualitative research (e.g. interviews, observation, participant observation), workshop design + facilitation, prototyping, etc.
Fellows typically spend 1–3 hours on fieldwork every other week. The experiments you design should be aligned with current work and/or curricular projects. The Studio is intended to offer a useful structure and meaningful design support rather than create a new extraction of your valuable time.
Coaching 1:1s
You'll meet with the facilitator individually throughout the program to get support on your project experiments and individual goals. Date, time, and location (e.g. in person or virtual) will be determined based on the individual and facilitator's availability and preferences.
NOTE: The Work in Progress Studio (WiPS) is an updated incarnation of the Design Thinking Project Studio (DTPS) with the same essential structure and content. Even if you've previously participated in DTPS, you're welcome to join the WiPS, where you will benefit from getting reintroduced to design and innovation tools and methods, the flexibility to work on multiple projects at various stages, a different combination of Innovation Fellows in the learning community for support and accountability, and ongoing 1:1 coaching.
At a glance
Learn design thinking tools and mindsets to create change in meaningful ways and cultivate your creativity in this dynamic, hands-on course. Engage in navigating ambiguity in productive ways by applying design tools and techniques to learn from others, synthesize qualitative data and experiment with new ideas. You'll practice collaborating with a team on a design project and develop your intuition for designing your design work.
The details
In-person meetings
You’ll apply design thinking tools and methods on a team design challeng, actively experiencing and experimenting with course concepts through an active learning model.
Generally the sessions will occur every other Friday @ 10:00 am–12:00 pm ET — dates for Spring 2025 will be confirmed in December 2024). Sessions will be held in the Edward St. John Learning & Teaching Center and in person attendance is required.
Asynchronous work
In weeks we don't meet in person, reflection and self-assessments will be assigned that take no more than 1 hour to complete. Reflection will help you process what you’re learning as well as find relevance to and make connections between course materials and how they might apply to you academically, professionally, and personally.
How to participate (+/or learn more!)
Email Mira Azarm at mazarm@umd.edu with questions or to schedule a time to discuss your goals, interests, and participation in the IF offerings.