Category Archive: Fellowship

1. d.school fellowship applications open! K12 & civic innovation

   April 9, 2015 7:18 am| 23 Comments

   

   The introductory design thinking workshop for d.school fellows and others across Stanford.

   Note: The d.school teaching fellowship applications close tonight. The following describes the d.school project fellowship, which opens this morning.

   We’re now accepting applications for the d.school fellowship program for the academic year 2015-16. This year, we are looking for restless experts in the fields of K12 education and civic innovation. Ideal candidates will be mid-career professionals and entrepreneurs with the potential to drive systems-level change. If you’re dedicated to improving either of these areas, read on!

   What’s a d.school fellowship?

   Not to be confused with our teaching fellowship, this hands-on, project-based program is rooted in organization design and is intended to help accelerate creative leaders and their work. Ideally, candidates for the fellowship will already have launched an initiative in either of our two focus areas, and will be coming to the program looking to scale its impact. Selected fellows will be eligible to receive a stipend and benefits, so they may commit to the 10-month experience. Our fellows are full-time at the d.school, and have access to the resources of Stanford University and the Silicon Valley community, as well.

   How does it work?

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2. Learn to teach the d.school way: Apply to be a teaching fellow!

   March 24, 2015 10:16 am| Leave a Comment

   

   UPDATE: The d.school fellowship applications are now open! The teaching fellowship applications, described below, close midnight, Pacific Time, April 9, 2015. 

   Have you ever attended a d.school class or workshop and wondered what goes into teaching the d.school way? Well, now’s your chance to find out.

   Applications for the d.school teaching fellowship are now open. The teaching fellowship (not to be confused with our professional fellowship program) runs for a full year and offers individuals an opportunity to learn, teach and grow their expertise in experiential teaching and design thinking.

   Here’s the critical piece of knowledge: Applications opened Monday and are due by midnight, Pacific Time, April 9, 2015. (more…)

3. Does evolution occur at the Gates of Hell?

   September 6, 2014 6:23 pm| 2 Comments

   I just finished my first week as a d.school fellow, and my mind is sparking. From the morning talk by d.school Executive Director Sarah Stein Greenberg, to discussions with Custodian of Growth and All Goodness (a.k.a Director of Fellowships) Justin Ferrell, to the chat with Editor-in-residence Emi Kolawole and Storytelling and Media Curriculum Designer Seamus Harte on telling better stories, and an awesome master class on improv by d.school and Graduate School of Business lecturer Dan Klein that stroked the raw human in all of us – I find myself asking: Why isn’t all education like this? Fresh, disorienting, frustrating, funny and real. I want to dwell in this space for all of eternity. And maybe I will.

   

   2014-2015 Fellows at Rodin’s “Gates of Hell”, which is actually a really fun place.

   And (I slay you, “but”), d.school Academic Director and Professor of Engineering Bernie Roth will be disappointed in me. What he said kept me up at night. The disappearing act I’m supposed to perform on my problems? It’s not quite happening. Do I need to go to Burning Man to get there?

   So, at the risk of revealing humbling gaps in my evolution – what’s wrong with problems? I actually … like problems. I don’t even have to dress them up as “opportunities” to want to hang out with them. I mean, don’t solutions and ideas depend on problems for their existence? Aren’t they an important step on the path to revelation? If something is going to keep you up at night, don’t you want it to be something that sets you on fire?

   Alas, it’s only my first week.
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4. Who says you can’t tell a story?

   May 13, 2014 10:55 am| Leave a Comment

   

   Fellows Kim Jacobson (left foreground), Fred Leichter and Anne Gibbon join leadership and innovation coach Richard Cox during a studio session on May 7. (Photo by Emi Kolawole)

   From the blank page to the public stage, storytelling can be intimidating. It can be a hellscape for people who have found comfort in more concrete exercises. In their session with Richard Cox last week, the fellows explored the story spine — a tool for those who want to express themselves but struggle with a place to start. The concept, Rich explained, came from Ken Adams’s book “How to Improvise a Full-Length Play; The Art of Spontaneous Theater.” It was later quoted as part of a Pixar pitch in Daniel Pink’s book, “To Sell is Human.” (more…)

5. Designing a workshop

   May 12, 2014 12:26 pm| 2 Comments

   The 21st Century Schools workshop day was an intensive, full-day experience held on April 26 and attended by over 50 parents, teachers, students and administrators from the San Mateo iZone and other organizations. The workshop was part of d.fellow Kim Jacobson’s larger innovation in education project, and written/taught by d.school fellows Kim Jacobson and Caitria O’Neill. They were joined by Frederick Pferdt, the head of innovation and creativity programs at Google.

   

   21st Century Schools Workshop – photo property of Riordan High School. @RiordanHS

   A workshop is an opportunity. You, the facilitator, have a group of diverse people that you’re trying to engage with information, design techniques, and other participants. Unfortunately, the process of getting from idea to workshop is generally opaque. I’ve broken down the process using a recent workshop as an example. (more…)

6. d.school fellowship application opens: Education & health care

   April 14, 2014 11:45 pm| 26 Comments

   

   (Photos by Emi Kolawole)

   Update: We have posted answers to a number of frequently asked questions regarding the fellowship and the application process. Prior to sending in a question about the application, please read this document. We will continue to update it as we receive additional questions that have not already been answered.

   We’re now accepting applications for the d.school fellowship program for the academic year 2014-15. This year, we are looking for restless experts in the fields of K12 education and health care. Ideal candidates will be mid-career professionals and entrepreneurs with the potential to drive systems-level change. If you’re dedicated to improving either of these areas, read on!

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7. Expertise, restlessness and irrationality

   February 20, 2014 10:38 pm| Leave a Comment

   

   The d.school fellows gather in Huddle Room 1 at the d.school. (Emi Kolawole)

   Over several days last weekend, I met hundreds of fascinating people individually and all at once. Many of them generously asked what I do and patiently listened to my stories. I say generously and patiently because I rarely have a short answer for anything. I’m a Southern-raised rambler with a tendency to over-explain who meanders to run-on discoveries. But I also want to be understood.

   So I’d like to write here, as clearly as a nuanced description can be, what I look for in potential d.school fellows. We have a collaborative selection process, which means these are personal thoughts, not a magic key. That said, we’ve learned a lot in two years about the type of people we can help and who contribute naturally to our students and the broader Stanford community.

   If you’ve been by The Accelerators blog at The Wall Street Journal this week, you might have seen an article I wrote about how to enable a startup culture in an established organization. Here’s what I mean by “expertise, restlessness and irrationality.” Stay with me.

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