Students studying together during group work

IDEA Design Academy

Join Innovation, Design, and Entrepreneurship Academy (IDEA) for a design challenge!

At Rutgers, IDEA is an undergraduate program that integrates design and entrepreneurial thinking into the student experience and allows them to explore the innovation process by thinking about what problems they would like to solve.

This academy is an intensive experience to introduce design thinking to high school students. During the week, students will learn design methods for problem solving and how they can be used to pursue an idea related to one of the United Nations Sustainability Goals or other areas of mutual interest.

Students will take part in a fast-paced design challenge that will enable them to be able to:

Explain how the design process can be used for problem solving a problem area of interest
Use journey maps to visual a process
Practice select design research methods such as
- Secondary research
- Brainstorming
- Question generation (HMW)
- Ideation
- Idea Prioritization
- Creating / Making
- Pitching

Academy Overview

Who
Students completing their sophomore and junior year, ages 16 to 18 by Summer 2025

What
A commuter, in-person summer program to learn about design thinking for problem solving

When
July 28 - August 1, 2025

Where
Rutgers–New Brunswick in New Jersey

Daily Sample Schedule

Below is the sample schedule for a student in the Design Academy with topics that the academy will cover during the week. Schedule is subject to change.

^{_{*Commuter students will be given options to engage in some evening activities pre-planned ahead of time with their cohort. All activities are supervised by a residential or program assistant. Those events are not reflected in this sample schedule.}}

Monday

8:00am	Drop-off
9:00am	Welcome Orientation • Introductions, Ice Breaker, Activity
11:00am	Lecture Topics: • Intro to design thinking for problem solving Lecture Goals: • Explain how the design process can be used for problem solving a problem area of interest
12:00pm	Lunch
1:00pm	Lecture Topics: • What problems do you want to solve? Lecture Goals: • Identifying when to use design
5:00pm	Pick-up

Tuesday

8:00am	Drop-off
9:00am	Lecture Topics: • Who am I designing with? Lecture Goals: • Discuss how and when to engage with a community to understand a problem
12:00pm	Lunch
1:00pm	Lecture Topics: • What is their journey (map)? Lecture Goals: • Create a journey map for a community based on a problem they want to solve
5:00pm	Pick-up

Wednesday

8:00am	Drop-off
9:00am	Lecture Topics: • Sketches, Mockups, and Prototypes Lecture Goals: • Define sketches, mock-ups and prototypes in the context of experimenting with a hypothesis • Develop, share, and iterate upon a sketch, mockup, or prototype for a problem area of interest
12:00pm	Lunch
1:00pm	Lecture Topics: • What could go wrong? Lecture Goals: • Discuss the unintended consequences of using the design process and the solutions it creates
5:00pm	Pick-up

Thursday

8:00am	Drop-off
9:00am	Lecture Topics: • Quick-and-dirty usability tests Lecture Goals: • Provide peer feedback
12:00pm	Lunch
1:00pm	Lecture Topics: • Pitching a design concept Lecture Goals: • Develop and present a pitch deck of a design solution to gain support from decision makers and provide a road map for moving forward
5:00pm	Pick-up

Friday

8:00am	Drop-off
9:00am	Lecture Topics: • Reflecting back: Our journey map Lecture Goals: • Identify individual skills or characteristics developed over the week
12:00pm	Lunch
1:00pm	Individual Reflection Lecture Goals: • Identify and pursue opportunities that align with their values and goals
5:00pm	Break to get ready for dinner and ceremony
6:00pm	Dinner & Certificate Ceremony for students

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