The field of digital technology and marketing is constantly evolving, and for those in the industry, lessons on thinking creatively and staying relevant aren’t always offered in traditional academic settings. This dilemma led to the creation of Boulder Digital Works, a progressive certification program offered through the University of Boulder at Colorado. This 60-week certification program is designed to produce innovative thinkers and digital experts who will emerge at the top of their field.
We at Onward Search are huge advocates of programs and companies that promote the education of professionals within any Internet/interactive marketing segment so I was very excited to ask David Slayden, Executive Director of Boulder Digital Works, some questions about this forward-looking curriculum and what it’s doing to shape the future of the entire digital sector.
Hillary: First, tell me about BDW and how it started.
David: In mid-winter 2009 at an all-day roundtable with some of the world’s top digital talent, we dedicated ourselves to creating a place where people could learn how to learn. Digital technologies are changing everything – how we work and play, interact as individuals and groups, and how and what we learn. Yet, too many educational institutions have become museums of what we used to learn at the expense of why and how we learn. We decided to create a place that would do more than remember the past. We wanted to create a place that would lead into the future. We understood that it needed to be different.
Boulder Digital Works is an alternative. We develop people who are generative, integrated thinkers and can work collaboratively. Everything we do evolves from a foundation that combines creativity, technology, and entrepreneurship. People from industry and academe come here to ask questions, share ideas and solve problems. BDW bridges the widening critical gap between academe and industry, between thinking and doing.
Hillary: What differentiates the “integrated” talent pool you are developing from traditionally-educated digital professionals?
David: First, process. An average week is often twice the number of hours of traditional graduate programs. A week’s worth of courses consists of hands-on technical classes, conceptual classes, lectures and demos by industry leaders, collaborative work on real industry projects, and performances that develop storytelling and improvisation. This intense commitment to the origination of ideas and their execution to solve problems in a collaborative environment is transformational. The talent pool at BDW becomes generative, focusing on solving problems. Identify a problem. Discover the opportunity. Explore. Think. Produce. This is how innovation happens.
People. BDW is a crossroads for talent from the creative industry. For example, we have a weekly studio series that features professionals who present their ideas, demo new technology, perform, etc. There’s also a workshop in story by James Sheeler, Pulitzer Prize winning author and a project with ad agency legend Alex Bogusky to move industry from petroleum-based packaging to biodegradable packaging. These are a few examples of the hybrid learning ability students develop via input from some of the best minds in industry and academe.
Creativity. At Boulder Digital works we think creativity is the last unfair advantage. For everyone who expects to thrive in the 21st century, it is necessary, practical, and possible. Digital is in our DNA. We break down existing ways of thinking and doing and reassemble ideas and execution into unexpected solutions. Call it creative destruction. We call it escaping fixedness. Our anthem is “Speed. Focus. Agility.”
Hillary: Does a prospective student of your program need any previous experience or education to apply?
David: This is a graduate program administered through the University of Colorado at Boulder. Applicants need an undergraduate degree. They also need to have a certain level of technical expertise. This is detailed on our site: bdw.colorado.edu/
Hillary: What can a student expect to take away from the 60-week certification program?
David: They will be a generative thinker who can work collaboratively and creatively to solve problems using technology. They will also know what it takes to bring an idea to market.
They will have a professional network that connects them to many of the top people in the digital industry. For example, the BDW board is active and engaged in what we do, and the students have gotten to know them. The students are also always building their books. So the short answer is that they take away a book and an unparalleled network to push that book out to the world.
I should mention also that two of our initial ten students have already been hired by top firms, even though the trajectory for their work in 60 Weeks will not be finished until December 2010.
Hillary: In a constantly evolving creative environment, how does BDW determine its curriculum? What are the most important trends that industry professionals should be keeping up with?
David: We have revised our curriculum four times since October 2009. We view the 60 Weeks graduate program as an ongoing experiment in learning that combines creative, technology and entrepreneurship. This means that we follow daily what is developing in these three areas and how these developments intersect. Mobile, for example, has finally hit critical mass in regard to consumer use and industry opportunity. We’ve experimented with some very short-form courses in mobile already and have a full-semester course on mobile that will begin on August 23, 2010.
As I’ve said, we have an active and engaged board of directors and a talent pool of professionals and exceptional academics that is always evolving. They provide us with a continuous resource of ideas and opinions about what we need to be focusing on. –
The BDW program and philosophy offer exciting opportunities for digital professionals who want to challenge themselves and break out of traditional molds of thought. I for one can’t wait to see what this group accomplishes in the coming months and years. If you want to learn more about the program, be sure to check out Boulder Digital works online and keep up with their latest events and news on their blog.
