DI Fellows Program

DI Fellows are thinkers, makers and doers who seek out creative solutions and solve problems

The Design Innovation (DI) Fellows Program supports students who engage with and become ambassadors for cross-disciplinary challenge-based innovation. The DI Fellows Program builds a network of student-to-student learning to prepare students to become leaders of meaningful positive change. This impactful cohort of thinkers, makers and doers seek out, reframe and inspire creative solutions and problem-solving. Fellows may be from any major and any Kent State University campus. 

Innovation for Design Thinking

The DI Fellows Program promotes and demonstrates how diversity in teams (of thinking, ethnicity, gender and gender ID, skills and disciplines) is one of the most powerful recipes for innovation through design thinking, process and methods. Fellows tackle complex/messy problems as members of diverse teams by engaging with and becoming advocates for the Design Innovation Initiative.

Fellows are selected as part of a competitive process that includes extracurricular, cross-disciplinary and collaborative workshops and design challenges. These students serve as part of the shared leadership model for the DI Initiative at Kent State University and this program builds a network of student-to-student learning to prepare leaders of meaningful change in higher education at the national level.    

Fellowships begin with students working collaboratively on short workshops and training sessions and competing in challenge-based innovation events as members of collaborative teams. Following successful completion of their training, candidates become official Design Innovation Fellows for the duration of their time at the university. DI Fellows ultimately assume leadership roles and become mentors of future student fellows.