The D+I Hub Engagement Model

The Design + Innovation Hub (D+I Hub) is MICA's coordinating ecosystem for creative experiential learning. It connects students, faculty, academic programs, centers, labs, and external partners through a range of engagement pathways that connect classroom learning to real-world practice.

The Hub supports opportunities as they evolve over time, helping move ideas into action and, when appropriate, toward lasting educational, societal, and market impact.

The D+I Hub Engagement Pathways

IDEAS

• Partnered Courses

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ACTION

• Post-Course Engagements

• Sponsored Projects

• Fellowships

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IMPACT

• Applied Research

• Entrepreneurship

• Implementation

• Long-term Partnerships

Key Terms

Applied Research: A funded project that generates new knowledge, creative practice, or innovation while addressing real-world questions or challenges. Applied research is typically led by faculty, centers, or labs and may include student participation when aligned with the project's goals, funding requirements, and research methodology.

Beyond the Classroom: The Design + Innovation Hub is designed to support work as it evolves over time. While many engagements begin as partnered courses, promising ideas may continue through funded post-course engagements, sponsored projects, fellowships, applied research, entrepreneurship, or other opportunities. By connecting ideas with appropriate funding, partnerships, and institutional support, the Hub helps promising work continue beyond the semester—creating lasting educational, societal, and market value.

Course Support Contribution: A financial or in-kind contribution provided by an external partner to help support the delivery of a partnered course. Course Support Contributions help offset the additional resources required for experiential learning—including materials, prototyping, travel, fabrication, exhibitions, guest speakers, and other course-related expenses. They support the educational experience and are not payments for instructional services, faculty consulting, or student labor.

Creative Experiential Learning (CEL): An educational approach that connects academic learning with authentic real-world experiences, partnerships, and applied projects. At MICA, partnered courses are one example of Creative Experiential Learning.

Design + Innovation Hub (D+I Hub): MICA's coordinating ecosystem for creative experiential learning. The Hub cultivates partnerships, develops opportunities, coordinates institutional support, and connects students, faculty, centers, labs, and external partners through pathways that move ideas into action and impact.

External Partner: A company, nonprofit, government agency, community organization, foundation, entrepreneur, cultural institution, or other organization that collaborates with MICA on a partnered course or another Design + Innovation Hub engagement.

Fellowship: A funded experiential learning opportunity that enables students to engage in creative work beyond the classroom. Fellowships may support work with external partners, faculty, centers, labs, or the continuation of projects that begin in a partnered course.

Memorandum of Understanding (MOU): A non-binding agreement that documents the shared understanding between MICA and an external partner regarding the goals, roles, expectations, and administrative framework for a partnered course. The MOU is developed by the Design + Innovation Hub from the completed Partnered Course Outline.

Partnered Course: A credit-bearing course in which MICA students collaborate with an external partner to explore and address a real-world opportunity or challenge. The primary goal is student learning through applied experience, with faculty guiding the educational process. While partners often receive valuable insights, concepts, and creative outcomes, a partnered course is not a consulting engagement or professional service.

Partnered Course Outline (PCO): The foundational planning document for a partnered course. Developed collaboratively by the faculty member and external partner, the PCO documents the opportunity, learning goals, course structure, roles, timeline, resource needs, and partnership expectations. Once completed, it serves as the primary planning document used by the Design + Innovation Hub to coordinate agreements, budgeting, funding, and other administrative processes.

Post-Course Engagement: A funded pathway that enables promising work to continue beyond the classroom. Building on a partnered course, students and faculty may continue developing ideas, prototypes, implementation efforts, research, or partnership work through paid project work or other institutionally supported opportunities.

Scope of Work (SOW): A project-specific document developed by the Design + Innovation Hub from the completed Partnered Course Outline. The Scope of Work describes the agreed-upon activities, timeline, partner participation, and educational objectives that guide the collaboration.

Sponsored Project: A funded collaboration with an external partner focused on producing defined outcomes or deliverables. Sponsored projects may involve faculty, students, recent graduates, interdisciplinary teams, centers, or labs and are coordinated through the appropriate MICA unit.

Opportunity: A real-world challenge, question, idea, need, or area for exploration that has the potential to create meaningful educational, creative, community, or market value. Within the Design + Innovation Hub, opportunities are explored collaboratively and matched with the engagement pathway that best supports student learning, partner goals, and long-term impact.