Carnegie Mellon Receives Intel Funding To Enhance Student Learning Through Integrative Design and Mobile Computing

PITTSBURGH, March 19, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Carnegie Mellon University is the first member of the newly formed Intel Design School Network to announce plans to embed principles of integrative design and related technologies in the academic experiences of students from all disciplines. As part of this announcement, CMU has named Daragh Byrne its Intel Integrative Design Fellow.

Intel is funding a research scientist position at CMU to collaborate with faculty and students to advance technology/arts-based collaborative learning through eight Integrative Design, Arts, and Technology (IDeATe) concentrations launching in August 2014.

"Intel is looking forward to helping make the IDeATe program a success by funding the research scientist position," said John Somoza, Intel Design School Network program manager.

The Intel Design School Network aims to connect students and faculty with Intel staff and individuals at other leading design schools for research projects and idea generation.

In addition, Intel is donating technologies including laptops, tablets and Galileo development boards – created especially for new designers, educators and the maker community – for use in the curriculum.

"CMU and Intel have a long history of supporting new education initiatives," said Intel® Software Academic Program Director Michael Smith, who earned a doctorate in electrical and computer engineering from CMU in 1998. "The Intel® Software Academic Program is pleased to sponsor the advanced mobile computing environment that supports the IDeATe initiative and the next generation of interdisciplinary studies at CMU."

Students completing one of the IDeATe concentrations in animation and special effects, entrepreneurship for creative industries, game design, intelligent environments, learning media, media design, physical computing or sound design will have the opportunity to learn through collaborative studio-based courses.

"IDeATe concentrations will prepare students to pursue careers in areas ranging from social media to the 'Internet of Things,' mobile computing, games for learning and performance technologies. They will be uniquely positioned to work in environments where multidisciplinary collaboration among well- prepared experts is key," said Thanassis Rikakis, CMU's vice provost for Design, Arts and Technology.

IDeATE courses will focus on cutting-edge themes such as human-machine virtuosity, physical computing, expanded theater and mobile design. Students enrolled in these courses will use the donated technology to complete team-based projects and prototype inventions.

"Carnegie Mellon has benefited from a longstanding relationship with Intel. We are thankful for Intel's generous support, which will help our faculty bring diverse teams together to solve complex problems and train students to advance deep skills in their areas of interest in a collaborative context," Rikakis said.

In his new role, Byrne will partner with faculty members to develop curricula and coordinate equipment use. Byrne will lead research to document and share best practices in integrative design education that span technology and the arts and train students to combine efficiency and quality-of-experience goals. He also will coordinate research on how Intel products can be used in creative, collaborative environments.

"Daragh has a long record of research projects and teaching activities that seamlessly combine technology and arts perspectives. He is thus ideally fitted for this new integrative design research scientist position," Rikakis said.

About Carnegie Mellon University: Carnegie Mellon (www.cmu.edu) is a private, internationally ranked research university with programs in areas ranging from science, technology and business, to public policy, the humanities and the arts. More than 12,000 students in the university's seven schools and colleges benefit from a small student-to-faculty ratio and an education characterized by its focus on creating and implementing solutions for real problems, interdisciplinary collaboration and innovation. A global university, Carnegie Mellon has campuses in Pittsburgh, Pa., California's Silicon Valley and Qatar, and programs in Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe and Mexico. 

About the Intel® Software Academic Program: The Intel® Software Academic Program (http://software.intel.com/academic) provides classroom and project resources to a global community of professors and students in high performance computing, mobile development, security and the Internet of Things. With access to software, hardware, courseware and other resources, we want to work with you to ensure the next generation of computer scientists, software engineers can develop software that maximizes performance on today's and tomorrow's hardware.

About the Intel Design School Network: The Intel Design School Network is a network of five of the leading design schools around the world. Members include Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California College of the Arts in San Francisco, Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Copenhagen Institute of Interaction Design in Copenhagen and Royal College of Art in London. Intel Corporation is partnering with these schools to enhance the learning environment by introducing students to innovative technology and promoting creative thought leadership where technology and user experience collide.

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SOURCE Carnegie Mellon University