SU24 Internship Recap
A Summer of Design and Discovery:
Recapping a Whirlwind Season of Intern Adventures at SCD
This summer, Siebel Center for Design turned up the heat with the 5th iteration of our summer internship program, running from June 3rd to August 1st. With over 40 bright and enthusiastic students and recent grads diving into the world of human-centered design (HCD), it was an action-packed season full of creativity, learning, and tons of fun!
Kicking Off with a Design Sprint
The journey began with an intense, week-long deep dive into HCD. Our interns, hailing from all corners of the Illinois campus, immersed themselves in the core principles of design thinking. They tackled hands-on design prompts, explored the five key spaces of HCD, and engaged in dynamic activities to boost their skills in creativity, collaboration, communication, metacognition, experimentation, and human-centeredness. By the end of the week, they were ready to tackle their summer projects with confidence and flair!
Design Projects Galore!
The real adventure started when our interns split into teams to tackle a variety of exciting projects. Here’s a peek at their incredible work:
Shops & Labs: The Shops & Labs interns were busy building and enhancing resources. They worked on creating a new "Annex" space to accommodate overflow activities and group reservations, ensuring the Shop and labs could better support larger groups and future equipment needs.
Operations Insights: One intrepid intern tackled an individual project analyzing network data, space use, and equipment trends. This project aimed to uncover usage patterns and gaps, providing valuable insights to guide future programming decisions.
Marketing Magic: Our Concierge interns embarked on a mission to enhance SCD's social media presence. They crafted a content creation guide to help peers produce engaging posts that truly represent the SCD spirit. Another Concierge team dove into campus perceptions of SCD, creating fresh content strategies to showcase how HCD can be applied across different fields.
Artistic Transformations: A multidisciplinary team, combining Concierge, Design, and Operations talents, set out to transform an underutilized space at SCD into a vibrant art gallery. Their project, nestled under the staircase, will celebrate queer history in the Champaign-Urbana community, turning a forgotten corner into a cultural gem.
Design and Experience: Our Design and Experience team members jumped into the creative process, getting up to speed with SCD’s brand guidelines and co-creating visual assets for our upcoming annual report. They played a crucial role in shaping the visual identity of SCD for the year ahead.
Assessment and Research: Our Assessment and Research interns were busy with a range of impactful projects. They worked on refining our "Learning how to Learn" content, automating assessment and impact reports, and analyzing data from K-12 and higher education writing workshops. Their work aims to enhance learning tools and streamline feedback processes.
Academic Programs: The Academic Programs interns were everywhere this summer. They ran the People Designing for People and Video Game Design camps, helping high school students explore engineering and game design through an HCD lens. They developed UIUC design case studies, reimagined K-12 field trip content, and crafted engaging workshop materials. Their contributions spanned from hands-on camp facilitation to creating educational toolkits and improving learner experiences.
Social Fun and Connections
It wasn’t all work and no play! Our interns hosted a variety of social activities, from board games to a coffee bar and crafting sessions. They also mingled with the iVenture cohort, who were busy with their summer accelerator program in our Sunset Studio. These interactions fostered a sense of community and camaraderie, making the summer both productive and enjoyable.
A Summer to Remember
As August 1st rolled around, our interns wrapped up a whirlwind summer of design challenges, creative projects, and collaborative experiences. Their contributions made a lasting impact on SCD, and the memories they created will surely be cherished.
Experiential Learning: The Key to Unlocking Future Success
At the core of our summer internship program is the belief that hands-on experience is just as crucial as classroom learning. While academic knowledge is important, it's the real-world projects that truly set students up for success. By diving into practical challenges, students get to apply what they've learned in a dynamic environment, honing their problem-solving skills and soft skills like communication and creativity. This experiential learning not only adds impressive projects to their resumes but also helps them build valuable connections, discover their passions, and get a taste of what it's like to thrive in the professional world. In short, our internship program doesn’t just prepare students for their next steps—it propels them toward a bright and successful future!