The fall 2019 semester was an innovative and impactful one for MEITE. We started the semester off in August with the biggest cohort of MEITE students yet! The orientation included team building activities along with information, and students were engaged.
Classes began the following week, and our students enrolled in courses focused on developing startups, entrepreneurship, the learning sciences, business planning, and marketing. Plus, many students began their internship at organizations that included startups such as the Young Founders Institute, technology organizations like Lithios Apps and Lab 58 in the Research Triangle Institute, and nonprofit organizations such as UNC’s own STEMIE that is part of the Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute.
In addition to being active inside the classroom and in their internships, MEITE students attended EdTech events in the Research Triangle, networked with industry professionals, and had an opportunity to explore UNC’s BeAM makerspace. These experiences were capped off with end-of-the-term presentations.
For the final class of MEITE program director Todd Cherner’s seminar course, students presented the work they completed in their internships, with a specific focus on how they utilized design thinking to complete assignments. To support the MEITE students, site-based supervisors, alumni, and faculty attended these presentations.
In addition, associate professor Kelly Ryoo‘s “Prototype Development” course concluded with a showcase of student work. Teams of students explained their idea for a product, venture, or service along with a prototype. Several School of Education faculty members, administrators, and students attended.
Finally, Keith Sawyer, the Morgan Distinguished Professor of Educational Innovations, concluded his course on the learning sciences by having students create and present posters about their course projects. Students shared their areas of interest and knowledge gained from the course, and multiple professors from the School of Education attended these presentations.
Outside of the classroom, MEITE faculty members revised the program handbooks along with an updated program of study, which were approved by their colleagues within the School. These documents are significant because they officially integrated four tracks into the MEITE program of study: The Edupreneur, The Learning Engineer, The Innovative Specialist, and The Human-Machine Interactionist. More information about these tracks can be found on MEITE’s webpage.
Coming off a successful fall semester, we look forward to a spring semester full of innovation, excitement, and momentum.