High school students from around the world will learn innovation and invention skills at an overnight summer camp hosted by the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, College of Architecture and Design.
Design Matters, to be held July 8 to 13 at the college, seeks to give students an understanding of how design impacts invention and human experience.
Camp participants will learn about design through field trips, drawing and model making, group discussions, and lectures from experts across the design disciplines.
“The camp is very focused on a particular way of problem-solving that requires students to listen hard, discuss intensely, and then rigorously execute,” said Matt Hall, Design Matters program director and lead instructor.
Participants will also get a glimpse into life as a college student. Campers will use the college’s facilities and studio spaces, design curriculum, stay in residence halls, eat in the dining facilities, and work directly with UT professors and students.
Students will also build a portfolio documenting their work at UT to use as a resource for future college applications.
The goal of Design Matters is to teach students real-world skills.
The design process is similar to the one used to create, test, and turn new ideas into products or spaces that people will use in their everyday lives. It is a nontraditional form of learning that encourages imagination, empathy, innovation, and collaboration to solve problems.
“Design is like a party—it takes a lot of good people for it to be successful,” Hall said. “The camp is fun because design and being creative is fun.”
Hall has taught both undergraduate- and graduate-level courses in architecture and interior design at the college, including professional electives and digital technology courses. He graduated with Bachelor of Architecture from UT and a Master of Architecture from the Harvard Graduate School of Design.
To learn more about the camp, visit the College of Architecture and Design website.
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C O N T A C T S:
Kiki Roeder (865-974-6713, kroeder@utk.edu)
Lola Alapo (865-974-3993, lalapo@utk.edu)