Fall 2020 Studio Kickoff!
This post was originally published on August 3, 2020.
The new school year is about to begin!
In light of the national and global challenges—the health crisis, economic crisis, and social movement—DFA is enlivened with a greater sense of purpose through the same mission: to empower the next generation of social innovators. Through design thinking education, interdisciplinary project opportunities, inspirational talks, remote training, and a community that values social impact, DFA is committed to supporting students through the Fall and beyond to build, teach, and connect in a more healthy and equitable future.
Quick Links:
National Projects and Challenge Library projects: Fill out the Interest Form to let us know you’re interested.
Sign up for the Leadership Kickoff happening Thursday, August 6th at 1PM to get started with running DFA studios and leading projects!
What we’re exploring:
The Future of Design. Right now, design work must be digital, ethical, and cross-collaborative. See crowdsourced tools, projects, and readings for COVID-19, remote work, and designing for equity.
The Future of Community. Through the Days of Summer digital series we’ve prototyped what a digital community looks like, covering topics of design in context, skill-building, and remote project scoping. Our favorite (shh!) is Rich Hollant’s Making it Personal talk.
The Future of Work. The first-ever small-group resume and portfolio reviews led up to the Human-Centered Design Review and Design in Government Review in effort to expand professional development opportunities for students and young alumni.
What’s New! for DFA Studios:
An active online community on Slack
Design process steps in easy-to-follow digital templates
Step-by-step project resources, all in one place on Notion
Professional design coaching through two (2) Fall 2020 National Projects and the new (!) Challenge Library feedback and critique sessions
The studio landscape will inevitably look different, but we’ve learned that it’s 100% possible to build relationships and make change while distanced. Sign up for the Leadership Kickoff to familiarize yourself with the new tools and resources for running DFA studios and leading projects!
Fall 2020 National Projects with YMCA of the USA and CVS Health
National Projects are facilitated project opportunities where 5 teams of DFAers uncover insights and explore new concepts for a sponsor company’s social impact challenge. Students collaborate over the course of 3 months and present their final concepts to leaders within the company.
This fall, we’re moving forward with a continuation of Spring 2020’s Cultivating Changemakers project with the Y, as well as a new environmental justice topic with CVS Health. Get a first look in the kickoff deck.
Students: Fill out the Interest Form to let us know you’re interested. We’ll reach out to give support for your application along the way!
New Challenge Library Projects
The DFA Challenge Library holds pre-scoped DFA-ready project topics for any student team to take on. This year, we are including more design coaching touchpoints, feedback sessions, and a final critique to showcase your project work. Topics include:
Food Access
Civic Engagement
Sustainability
Mental + Physical Health
Climate Change
Accessibility
Education
Future of Work
Voting
Students: Fill out the Interest Form to let us know you’re interested. The Challenge Library doesn’t have an application process, but you can sign up to participate in the feedback and crit sessions.
To Impact,
Glory, Ross + The DFA National Team
