Open Classes
Are you curious about how product innovation works? Want to learn how to be an influential entrepreneur or intrapreneur? Whether you’re interested in developing ideas or want to advance your career in an organization, our courses will help you turn your ideas into action. The da Vinci Center for Innovation offers courses for ALL students at VCU, all levels of experience are welcome.
*See final schedule details on Banner
*Please note: you can register for multiple “Topics” courses (INNO 491, 591, 691) but will need an override to do so if they have the same course number (example: registering for: two sections of INNO 491). Please email Mary-Chris Escobar for assistance with this (escobarmc@vcu.edu).
Undergraduate Courses:
Intro to Innovation & Venture Creation
Instructor: Mary-Chris Escobar, M.Ed
Perfect for students who are interested in product development/design and/or entrepreneurship. INNO 200 is the introductory class for the da Vinci Center certificates in Venture Creation and Product Innovation and it is a great way for students to explore these topics, as well as other topics such as creativity and human-centered design. It can be found in the course listing under daVinci and it’s approved as an Experiential Fine Arts course for H&S students!
Innovation Intersection: Industry and Entrepreneurship
Instructor: Todd Waldo
Open to all students and it’s approved as a General Education course. This course will explore the intersection of industries of innovation and entrepreneurship in the social world we live in. This course will operate as part speaker series, part podcast and part group dialog. Topics include, but are not limited to, innovation in education, systemic exclusion and discrimination, ecosystem building, innovation in health care, equity, access, and funding. It can be found in the course listing under daVinci!
Introduction to Arts and Design Principles
Instructor: Andrew Indelicato
Introduces arts and design principles to students from non-arts disciplines.
Introduction to Business Principles
Instructor: April Palmer
Introduces business fundamentals to students from non-business disciplines. Particular focus will be concepts and issues in contemporary business.
Introduction to Engineering and Technology Principles
Instructor: Dr. Correll Moore, PhD
Introduces engineering and technology fundamentals to students from non-engineering disciplines. Particular focus is the engineering problem-solving process as applied to open-ended problems. Students will be introduced to the different types of engineering, examine engineering and technology issues and apply the engineering problem-solving process.
Topics - Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator & Indesign
Instructor: Andrew Ilnicki
A project based course, students will learn about design principles, tools, and develop digital literacy skills using the Adobe CC suite of tools. This course will focus on how to design digital prototypes and marketing materials specifically with Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, and InDesign. Students will apply basic design principles to projects, explore visual communication methods, and utilize the Adobe CC programs to edit photos, create logos, make simple illustrations, and design page layouts.
*Please note: you can register for multiple “Topics” courses (INNO 491, 591, 691) but will need an override to do so if they have the same course number (example: registering for: two sections of INNO 491). Please email Mary-Chris Escobar for assistance with this (escobarmc@vcu.edu).
Topics - Adobe XD & Figma
Instructor: Andrew Ilnicki
A project based course, students will learn about design principles, tools, and develop digital literacy skills using the Adobe CC suite of tools. This course will focus on how to apply design thinking discovery methods to the creation of digital prototypes for web and mobile applications using Adobe XD and Figma. Students will apply basic design principles to projects, explore visual communication methods, utilize the Adobe CC programs to wireframe, build personas, journey maps, and design effective webpage and mobile prototypes for clients.
*Please note: you can register for multiple “Topics” courses (INNO 491, 591, 691) but will need an override to do so if they have the same course number (example: registering for: two sections of INNO 491). Please email Mary-Chris Escobar for assistance with this (escobarmc@vcu.edu).
Topics - Adobe Rush
Instructor: Andrew Ilnicki
A project based course, students will learn about design principles, tools, and develop digital literacy skills using the Adobe CC suite of tools. This course will focus on how to apply storytelling and design methods to the creation of digital video for web communications using Adobe Rush. Students will apply storytelling and design principles to projects, explore visual communication methods, and utilize Adobe Rush to storyboard, capture video, apply audio, edit, scale footage, manipulate timelines, and export to produce high quality digital video projects for dissemination on the web.
*Please note: you can register for multiple “Topics” courses (INNO 491, 591, 691) but will need an override to do so if they have the same course number (example: registering for: two sections of INNO 491). Please email Mary-Chris Escobar for assistance with this (escobarmc@vcu.edu).
Topics - Software for Social Good
Instructor: William Benton
Software for Social Good (SSG) is a multi unit VIP (see http://vip.vcu.edu) offering students from a variety of majors practical experience with problem discovery and solution ideation. The primary goal of the SSG VIP is to research, prototype, and deliver product-oriented data analytics solutions tailored to unique client needs.
*Please note: you can register for multiple “Topics” courses (INNO 491, 591, 691) but will need an override to do so if they have the same course number (example: registering for: two sections of INNO 491). Please email Mary-Chris Escobar for assistance with this (escobarmc@vcu.edu).
Topics - UX / UI (User Experience / User Interface)
Instructor: Andrew Indelicato, MFA & MPI
Develop accessible, efficient and enlightened experiences between human and technology, through contemporary and real world practices and projects. Covers design and development methods, information architecture, usability, development processes and interface design.
*Please note: you can register for multiple “Topics” courses (INNO 491, 591, 691) but will need an override to do so if they have the same course number (example: registering for: two sections of INNO 491). Please email Mary-Chris Escobar for assistance with this (escobarmc@vcu.edu).
Topics - Innovation in Energy
Instructors: Dr. Alex Moyes, PhD
The very act of reading this description means you are using energy! Like it or not, you can’t even open your news app without seeing headlines on climate change and the energy transition. Want to become part of the conversation? The energy industry is rapidly evolving thanks to innovative, emerging technologies. But the transition is not without its challenges. As we move from a reliance on fossil fuel power generation to one powered by renewables, we swap carbon emissions for critical mineral dependence and increased land usage. This class will explore the energy sector, from where we have been to where we are going. We will dive deep into solar, wind, energy storage, geothermal, nuclear, and fossil fuels paired with carbon capture. We will develop an understanding of the emerging energy, water, and mining nexus and analyze the pros and cons of each energy system. Lastly, we will explore the innovations that are meant to address the challenges and identify new opportunities for future innovation.
*Please note: you can register for multiple “Topics” courses (INNO 491, 591, 691) but will need an override to do so if they have the same course number (example: registering for: two sections of INNO 491). Please email Mary-Chris Escobar for assistance with this (escobarmc@vcu.edu).
Topics - Conscious Capitalism
Instructors: Charles Ajjemian
How do companies like Patagonia and Ben and Jerry's utilize conscious capitalism to advance products and services that serve consumers as well as society and the environment? Learn how human centered entrepreneurship, business models, financial modeling and projections, as well as branding and storytelling are key to successful social enterprises. Students will apply their new knowledge through direct instruction and mentorship of local Social Enterprise Accelerator startups.
*Please note: you can register for multiple “Topics” courses (INNO 491, 591, 691) but will need an override to do so if they have the same course number (example: registering for: two sections of INNO 491). Please email Mary-Chris Escobar for assistance with this (escobarmc@vcu.edu).
Topics - How to Get a Job: Personal Branding and Networking
Instructor: April Palmer
Learn how to build and leverage your social network in order to develop authentic relationships with others, increasing your visibility and connections with folx who can help advance your career aspirations. This course will primarily focus on LinkedIn best practices, theoretical perspectives, and methodology and requires engagement with your LinkedIn network for approximately 30 minutes each day.
*Please note: you can register for multiple “Topics” courses (INNO 491, 591, 691) but will need an override to do so if they have the same course number (example: registering for: two sections of INNO 491). Please email Mary-Chris Escobar for assistance with this (escobarmc@vcu.edu).
Topics - Designing Your Life
Instructor: Mary-Chris Escobar, M.Ed
Design-thinking is particularly useful in tackling big, thorny, questions that don’t have one right answer. Questions like-- what should I do next in life? This course provides you with an overview of the design-thinking process and gives you a framework and tools to help you design your way forward through your graduate studies and beyond. We’ll work together as a community of peers and mentors to help each other discover our next best steps through assigned readings, personal reflections, and in-class exercises. Open to all graduate students from any program.
*Please note: you can register for multiple “Topics” courses (INNO 491, 591, 691) but will need an override to do so if they have the same course number (example: registering for: two sections of INNO 491). Please email Mary-Chris Escobar for assistance with this (escobarmc@vcu.edu).
Topics - Shift Magazine
Instructors: Jessica Collins, VCU Robertson School & Lloyd Young, VCU da Vinci Center
This course is a cross-disciplinary, project-based course where students will build on the foundational principles and practices of visual design by directly applying their skills to create a magazine for Shift Retail Lab. All students will experiment in constructing content through design thinking, graphic design, branding, photography, copywriting, communications, and event planning.
By the end of this course, students will have created an issue of Shift Magazine and planned a launch party to introduce the issue to the VCU and Richmond community. Students can expect to achieve beginning to intermediate technical competency in Adobe InDesign through online instruction modules, assignments, and instructor support. All students will be given remote access to an Adobe Creative Cloud license while enrolled.
Fast Company has named Shift Retail Lab at Virginia Commonwealth University as an honorable mention in the Urban Design category of the magazine’s 2022 World Changing Ideas Awards.
*Please note: you can register for multiple “Topics” courses (INNO 491, 591, 691) but will need an override to do so if they have the same course number (example: registering for: two sections of INNO 491). Please email Mary-Chris Escobar for assistance with this (escobarmc@vcu.edu).
Venture Creation Skills
Instructor: William Benton
Students are introduced to and apply various skills important for real venture creation. A multidisciplinary orientation and approach are emphasized throughout the course. Great for students who have an idea for a business they want to start or a product they want to launch. This course counts toward da Vinci Center's Venture Creation certificate and is also a great option for students in need of a 300 level elective!
Courses in Human-Centered Design
Human-Centered Design is all about the people and communities we design for. When solving problems or responding to challenges, we can sometimes be tempted to create solutions without considering their full impact. These courses help students reorganize their thinking to prioritize the person or people who would benefit from the solutions we create. Courses provide students with a strong foundation in the philosophy and practice of Design Thinking; preparing them to innovate and problem solve with people and communities in mind.
Intro to Human-Centered Design
Instructor: Tyson Glover
This course explores the human-centered design paradigm from a broad perspective. Students are exposed to human-centered design thinking and experiential client activities. Topics include human-centered design principles, methodologies, user research, data collection and assessment, inspiration, ideation, and implementation phases, and critical- and creative-thinking models. If students choose to apply to the Innovate Living/Learning program this class counts toward that certificate. Listed under Human-Centered Design in the course listing.
Human-Centered Design Methods
Instructor: Tyson Glover
(NOTE: Open to all students, but has a prerequisite of HCDN 351): This course explores human-centered design methods and an experiential client interaction. Students will be challenged to develop, utilize and assess several ways of knowing and thinking about how to effectively contextualize, formulate, conduct, analyze and disseminate the results derived from particular engagements with human-centered design and their processes in the context of research and design.
Human-centered Design Through Service Learning
Instructor: Jordan Childs
Class Mentor: John Jones
(Prerequisites: HCDN 351, HCDN 352) This course allows students to engage in an experiential nonprofit client scenario working through human-centered design methods that solve a community need specific to social innovation. This semester students will work with The Little Ram Pantries project on product development and planning. The Little Ram Pantries project seeks to make the Ram Pantry more visible by deploying miniature pantry boxes around the campus. The project’s two goals are to a) mitigate student food insecurity by increasing the number of students using the emergency food, and b) increase visibility of the Ram Pantry around campus to lower the stigma surrounding its use. VCU is the first school to deploy a program like this to mitigate student food insecurity.
Graduate Courses:
Spring Classes
Topics - UX / UI (User Experience / User Interface)
Instructor: Andrew Indelicato, MFA & MPI
Develop accessible, efficient and enlightened experiences between human and technology, through contemporary and real world practices and projects. Covers design and development methods, information architecture, usability, development processes and interface design.
*Please note: you can register for multiple “Topics” courses (INNO 491, 591, 691) but will need an override to do so if they have the same course number (example: registering for: two sections of INNO 491). Please email Mary-Chris Escobar for assistance with this (escobarmc@vcu.edu).
Topics - Innovation in Energy
Instructors: Dr. Alex Moyes, PhD
The very act of reading this description means you are using energy! Like it or not, you can’t even open your news app without seeing headlines on climate change and the energy transition. Want to become part of the conversation? The energy industry is rapidly evolving thanks to innovative, emerging technologies. But the transition is not without its challenges. As we move from a reliance on fossil fuel power generation to one powered by renewables, we swap carbon emissions for critical mineral dependence and increased land usage. This class will explore the energy sector, from where we have been to where we are going. We will dive deep into solar, wind, energy storage, geothermal, nuclear, and fossil fuels paired with carbon capture. We will develop an understanding of the emerging energy, water, and mining nexus and analyze the pros and cons of each energy system. Lastly, we will explore the innovations that are meant to address the challenges and identify new opportunities for future innovation.
*Please note: you can register for multiple “Topics” courses (INNO 491, 591, 691) but will need an override to do so if they have the same course number (example: registering for: two sections of INNO 491). Please email Mary-Chris Escobar for assistance with this (escobarmc@vcu.edu).
Topics - Conscious Capitalism
Instructors: Charles Ajjemian
How do companies like Patagonia and Ben and Jerry's utilize conscious capitalism to advance products and services that serve consumers as well as society and the environment? Learn how human centered entrepreneurship, business models, financial modeling and projections, as well as branding and storytelling are key to successful social enterprises. Students will apply their new knowledge through direct instruction and mentorship of local Social Enterprise Accelerator startups.
*Please note: you can register for multiple “Topics” courses (INNO 491, 591, 691) but will need an override to do so if they have the same course number (example: registering for: two sections of INNO 491). Please email Mary-Chris Escobar for assistance with this (escobarmc@vcu.edu).
Topics - Designing Your Life
Instructor: Mary-Chris Escobar, M.Ed
Design-thinking is particularly useful in tackling big, thorny, questions that don’t have one right answer. Questions like-- what should I do next in life? This course provides you with an overview of the design-thinking process and gives you a framework and tools to help you design your way forward through your graduate studies and beyond. We’ll work together as a community of peers and mentors to help each other discover our next best steps through assigned readings, personal reflections, and in-class exercises. Open to all graduate students from any program.
*Please note: you can register for multiple “Topics” courses (INNO 491, 591, 691) but will need an override to do so if they have the same course number (example: registering for: two sections of INNO 491). Please email Mary-Chris Escobar for assistance with this (escobarmc@vcu.edu).
Intro to Innovation, Design Thinking & Change Management
Instructor: Gopakumar Nair
Innovation, design thinking, and change management are critical skills across disciplines and are part of a larger collection of 21st-century skills that benefit individuals and organizations. Get an introduction to these concepts, actively participate in real-world innovation projects and earn internationally recognized certifications in design thinking and change management.
Becoming an Entrepreneur
Instructor: William Benton
This course takes a practitioner’s perspective on the organizations, practices, and cultures of contemporary entrepreneurship and innovation. While we will learn about the history and organization of new, high impact ventures, we do so in order to facilitate student venture development. Entrepreneurship education often deals with mindsets, business plans, and opportunity recognition techniques. This course explains these things through a focus on individual venture development.
Summer Classes
Intro to Innovation, Design Thinking & Change Management
Instructor: Gopakumar Nair
Innovation, design thinking, and change management are critical skills across disciplines and are part of a larger collection of 21st-century skills that benefit individuals and organizations. Get an introduction to these concepts, actively participate in real-world innovation projects and earn internationally recognized certifications in design thinking and change management.
Topics - User Research for Product Innovation
Instructor: Noel van Aartrijk
Get into the heads and hearts of consumers by combining people skills, analysis and strategic thinking methods. Students will learn how to effectively research consumers using primary/secondary research and qualitative methods. Learn techniques and tools to tell other people's stories and connect them to great solutions.
*Please note: you can register for multiple “Topics” courses (INNO 491, 591, 691) but will need an override to do so if they have the same course number (example: registering for: two sections of INNO 491). Please email Mary-Chris Escobar for assistance with this (escobarmc@vcu.edu).
UX / UI (User Experience / User Interface)
Instructor: Erin Brooks
Going from an idea to an app or website is an exciting and collaborative journey. In this course, we’ll explore the power of user-centered design and design thinking methodology in an agile software development process. We’ll learn how to evaluate designs to identify potential opportunities, plan and prioritize feature development, and strategize on how to improve digital experiences based on user feedback and behavior analytics.
*Please note: you can register for multiple “Topics” courses (INNO 491, 591, 691) but will need an override to do so if they have the same course number (example: registering for: two sections of INNO 491). Please email Mary-Chris Escobar for assistance with this (escobarmc@vcu.edu).
IP for Startups
Instructor: TBD
Learn how startups use Intellectual Property to compete against corporate giants and to protect your inventions and creative work—now and in the future—from an experienced intellectual property attorney. The mantra of this course is to Empower. Protect. Compete. Fund.
*Please note: you can register for multiple “Topics” courses (INNO 491, 591, 691) but will need an override to do so if they have the same course number (example: registering for: two sections of INNO 491). Please email Mary-Chris Escobar for assistance with this (escobarmc@vcu.edu).
How to Prototype Your Ideas
Instructor: Vincent Vu
Are you looking to learn how to turn a product idea into a tangible prototype? Prototyping is an essential step in product development as it helps you test and refine your ideas before investing significant resources. This course will teach you the foundation processes for building a functional prototype using various tools and techniques. The course will start with an overview of the prototyping process, including the different types of prototypes and their importance in product development. We will discuss the benefits of prototyping, such as reducing the risk of failure, improving the user experience, and the most cost-effective way to build and test your prototype. Next, we will dive into the steps to build functional prototypes for concepts you or your classmates bring to the course. Whether you are a beginner or have experience in prototyping, this course will equip you with the skills and knowledge to build a functional prototype for your product.
*Please note: you can register for multiple “Topics” courses (INNO 491, 591, 691) but will need an override to do so if they have the same course number (example: registering for: two sections of INNO 491). Please email Mary-Chris Escobar for assistance with this (escobarmc@vcu.edu).
Fall Classes
Topics - How to Get a Job: Personal Branding and Networking
Instructor: April Palmer
Learn how to build and leverage your social network in order to develop authentic relationships with others, increasing your visibility and connections with folx who can help advance your career aspirations. This course will primarily focus on LinkedIn best practices, theoretical perspectives, and methodology and requires engagement with your LinkedIn network for approximately 30 minutes each day.
*Please note: you can register for multiple “Topics” courses (INNO 491, 591, 691) but will need an override to do so if they have the same course number (example: registering for: two sections of INNO 491). Please email Mary-Chris Escobar for assistance with this (escobarmc@vcu.edu).
Topics - Shift Magazine
Instructors: Jessica Collins, VCU Robertson School & Lloyd Young, VCU da Vinci Center
This course is a cross-disciplinary, project-based course where students will build on the foundational principles and practices of visual design by directly applying their skills to create a magazine for Shift Retail Lab. All students will experiment in constructing content through design thinking, graphic design, branding, photography, copywriting, communications, and event planning.
By the end of this course, students will have created the first issue of Shift Magazine and planned a launch party to introduce the issue to the VCU and Richmond community. Students can expect to achieve beginning to intermediate technical competency in Adobe InDesign through online instruction modules, assignments, and instructor support. All students will be given remote access to an Adobe Creative Cloud license while enrolled.
Fast Company has named Shift Retail Lab at Virginia Commonwealth University as an honorable mention in the Urban Design category of the magazine’s 2022 World Changing Ideas Awards.
*Please note: you can register for multiple “Topics” courses (INNO 491, 591, 691) but will need an override to do so if they have the same course number (example: registering for: two sections of INNO 491). Please email Mary-Chris Escobar for assistance with this (escobarmc@vcu.edu).
Designing Your Life
Instructor: Mary-Chris Escobar, M.Ed
Design-thinking is particularly useful in tackling big, thorny, questions that don’t have one right answer. Questions like-- what should I do next in life? This course provides you with an overview of the design-thinking process and gives you a framework and tools to help you design your way forward through your graduate studies and beyond. We’ll work together as a community of peers and mentors to help each other discover our next best steps through assigned readings, personal reflections, and in-class exercises. Open to all graduate students from any program.
*Please note: you can register for multiple “Topics” courses (INNO 491, 591, 691) but will need an override to do so if they have the same course number (example: registering for: two sections of INNO 491). Please email Mary-Chris Escobar for assistance with this (escobarmc@vcu.edu).
Intro to Innovation, Design Thinking & Change Management
Instructor: Gopakumar Nair
Innovation, design thinking, and change management are critical skills across disciplines and are part of a larger collection of 21st-century skills that benefit individuals and organizations. Get an introduction to these concepts, actively participate in real-world innovation projects and earn internationally recognized certifications in design thinking and change management.