VCU da Vinci Center for Innovation collaborates with Adobe to enhance and expand design-thinking curriculum

June 22, 2021 - Lloyd Young

The VCU da Vinci Center is embarking on a radical new offering that will train cross-disciplinary faculty members from across the university to master Adobe Creative Cloud applications. Additionally, the da Vinci Center will invite Creative Cloud graduate student ambassadors to serve as graduate assistants. The primary goal of this project is to advance digital literacy and digital prototyping capability for students through greater access and use of Creative Cloud. For the first time in its 14-year history, the VCU da Vinci Center will launch a series of new courses open to all graduate students that will allow any graduate or professional student to gain key skills for the 21st century and earn a Graduate Credential in Innovation and Design Thinking.

The goal is to reach at least 10% of VCU’s graduate student population in the first 5 years. Based on the success of a recent partnership with the School of Nursing, and in addition to existing partnerships with the School of Arts, School of Business, College of Engineering, and College of Humanities and Sciences these new courses will bring innovation, design thinking, and prototyping to all students regardless of college or school.

“The da Vinci Center is prototyping the future of higher education, and we are thrilled to be joined by such an innovative technology leader in Adobe to help expand access to critical 21st Century skills such as digital literacy and design thinking. These new courses, and our collaboration with Adobe, will build on our already robust culture of cross-disciplinary innovation at VCU.” -Dr. Garret Westlake, Executive Director at VCU da Vinci Center for Innovation.

Dr. Westlake is leading the transformation of VCU into one of the nation’s leading universities for cross-disciplinary collaboration and innovation. As executive director of the da Vinci Center for Innovation, Dr. Westlake advances university-wide student innovation and entrepreneurship through curriculum as well as through curated experiential education opportunities.

The academic and experiential offerings of the VCU da Vinci Center for Innovation aim to create T-shaped individuals who are anchored in a discipline and have the capacity and openness to span across disciplines. As a result, students are better prepared to engage in our increasingly global world because they have developed the skills and tools necessary to engage in difficult dialog, to disagree, to reframe failure, and make change. VCU da Vinci Center is committed to increasing diversity and inclusivity in entrepreneurial and technical ecosystems; recognizing that our students represent the next generation of innovators and creators.