Priorities:Carnegie Mellon University Student Priorities

Overview 

IDeATe Program

The Integrative Design, Arts and Technology Network (IDeATe) at Carnegie Mellon University connects diverse strengths across CMU to advance education, research and creative practice in domains that merge technology and arts expertise.

IDeATe supports eight interrelated undergraduate concentration areas, all of which can also be taken as minors. The themes of these areas integrate knowledge in technology and arts: game design, animation and special effects, media design, sound design, learning media design, entrepreneurship for creative industries, intelligent environments, and physical computing.

The IDeATe concentrations aim to train a student to be excellent in one area of technology or arts and be able to collaborate within diverse cohorts of technology and arts experts. To achieve this goal, IDeATe has sponsored the development of 30 new interdisciplinary technology-arts studio based courses. These studio classes are focused on hands on collaborative learning and are structured to combine students from many different disciplines. The curriculum is being developed and delivered by 65 faculty across 15 different academic units of CMU and being delivered at the new IDEATE collaborative making facility housed at the central Hunt Library.

Strategy 1: IDeATe Layout 

Classroom Layout

Changing the physical layout of IDeATe seems like a simple concept, but it will be effective. 

Currently, the IDeATe classrooms feel like many other rooms on campus — blank and structured. They function as a place for classes and a base for students to work on group projects, but beyond that, the rooms primarily remain empty. 

The axis of any community is its members and IDeATe is no different. In order to strengthen the sense of community in IDeATe, students must feel comfortable enough to work in the space whether or not a project is due the next morning. With more students working in IDeATe, there is a higher chance students from different concentrations will interact and communicate, thus building a core community.

By changing the physical layout of the IDeATe classrooms, spaces can be tailored to act as both group work spaces and places for individuals to work on their own unrelated projects. Small alterations such as table placement, wall color, and material organization can go a long way when creating an inviting work space.

Strategy 2: Interaction of IDeATe Minors 

IDeATe Capstone Project

By implementing an IDeATe Capstone course, students from all concentrations will be given the opportunity to enroll in small centrally located sessions that allow them to work with both faculty mentors and each other to create self-directed projects.

The open format of the class allows students to practice skills they have already learned and apply them in a semester-long capstone project. This project will allow students to break out of their assignment driven course structure and delve into a topic of their interest. Along the way, students from different concentrations will be encouraged to collaborate and communicate on ideas to strengthen their projects.