Four graduate students from UGA participated in the 2024 Emerging Creatives Student Summit, hosted by the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) and the Alliance for the Arts in Research Universities (a2ru). Saurabh Anand (English), Emily Dustman (College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences), Jana Ghezawi (Art), and Christina James (Biochemistry and Molecular Biology) joined students from across the a2ru network to explore the theme of “Play” in the RIT Student Hall for Exploration and Development (SHED), a new facility that provides flexible spaces for technology, art, and design under one roof. Participants worked in interdisciplinary teams to create arts-integrative projects with training from a2ru staff on best practices for collaboration. More details about the summit and final presentations are available here.
Christina James reflected that “the Summit’s emphasis on interactive modes of learning, such as physical models, games, and experiential activities, has inspired me to explore novel avenues for incorporating play-based methodologies into upper-level biology courses.”
Emily Dustman contributed an essay about her summit experience to E-Squared, an art+science publication and website. Her analysis on the collaborative process suggests that “together, cooperation and collaboration translate to much more meaningful work and build a strong foundation for successful teamwork and problem-solving in all aspects of life.” You can read the full essay here.
