C+I March 2021 Newsletter

C+I Summer 2021: New Partnership for Transdisciplinary Education

"At the School of Architecture + Design, we learn together how to create a human-designed world that is more sustainable, open, and beautiful. We use all of our skills and knowledge to do so, and the ability to open up our ability to experiment through collaborations with C+I is especially exciting. Understanding that design in all of its aspects is a way of working on and in the real world and that what results are as many cultural artifacts as technical products, we are eager to gain from searching together with scholars and students of all ages in other disciplines. We look forward to the speculative designs and beautiful experiments in space, image, and objects that will come out of our collaboration."

"The Honors College is honored to work with C+I to address contemporary students’ critical need for transdisciplinary learning experiences, which are still in limited supply at Virginia Tech and beyond. Our partnership allows for rapid development and piloting of courses targeting critical learning objectives, thus providing engaged faculty and motivated students the spaces they need for transdisciplinary collaboration. Our collective flexibility should encourage a broad range of faculty and students to conceive and pursue new educational possibilities."

"Much of the work of the English Department is interdisciplinary by nature, so we are excited about a structure that will help us better work with others on teaching across the disciplines. We think this program is going to open doors to creativity. I can envision new opportunities that fit in with the Tech+Humanities initiative, meaning crossovers that would allow the outstanding writing faculty in English to work on podcasting, video games, and narratives across other platforms. For those who study narratives, this partnership will open up new avenues for collaboration on methodology and genre."

"The C+I partnership is a natural fit for Honors because of the transdisciplinary capacity and potential."

"As Chair of ID, I am proud to support the C+I initiative on campus by committing faculty and school resources to serve the broader community. Coming together to develop these opportunities together fulfills the vision of the university to embed transdisciplinary work in more courses. It broadens the students' perspective on teamwork, leadership, and specifically for our DA, the students benefit from instruction on creative and innovative approaches to problem-solving across multiple colleges and disciplines. I look forward to growing the course offerings for students and cultivating a standard for healthy partnerships across the traditional boundaries of the university."