ACADEMY LEARNING EXPERIENCE

Challenge-Based Learning (CBL) is the foundational component of the Academy’s dynamic learning framework. Through industry-facing initiatives and realworld challenge prompts, Academy students develop diverse expertise that allows them to address complex sociotechnical challenges in collaboration with industry leaders in classes and labs. The Academy also offers an interrelated network of student-driven CBL offerings such as Venture Showcase, Garage Experience, and Directed Research which allow students to develop multifaceted projects, innovations, and ventures that are aligned to their areas of interest.

Project prompts have targeted areas such as:

▪ Sustainability

▪ Human performance

▪ Future of play, health and well-being

▪ New models and incentives for social entrepreneurship

▪ Application of creative technologies in K–12 classrooms

▪ ‘Smart’ health environments

▪ Advancing data collection and visualization in patientand physician-facing technologies, including through machine and deep learning

Academy faculty represent diverse disciplines including design, business, engineering, and communication. Faculty and administration work collaboratively to continually assess, refine, and iterate every aspect of the student experience.

The depth of work and creative problemsolving enabled by the Academy education has attracted the interest of industry leaders and corporate giants.

Industry Partnerships

Collaborations include those with:

▪ Google Creative Labs

▪ adidas

▪ Samsung

▪ Fisher-Price

▪ Hot Wheels

▪ Volkswagen/Audi

▪ EY

▪ Adobe

▪ Dell

▪ TOMS Shoes

▪ The Grammy Foundation

▪ Fender Guitars

▪ Los Angeles World Airports (LAX)

▪ Children’s Hospital Los Angeles

▪ Phase One Cancer Foundation

▪ Viasat

▪ The Ellison Institute for Transformative Medicine at USC

▪ Harvard Business Publishing

▪ The American Heart Association

Academy student teams are in high demand as companies seek insight into the next generation of consumers and influencers.

All CBL experiences are realized in collaboration with renowned organizations in the for-profit and non-profit sectors.

Academy industry partnerships also provide opportunities for student mentoring, internships and long term career placement.

Internships And Careers

As innovators who are well prepared for an ever-changing global landscape, Academy students are securing highly competitive internships, fellowships and full-time positions at a roster of companies that includes Google, Apple, Intel, Adobe, Meta, Instagram, Spotify, IDEO, Dreamworks, Disney, Amazon, TikTok, Blizzard Entertainment, Imagine Entertainment, PriceWaterhouseCoopers, Ernst and Young, Deloitte, Hulu, NVIDIA, Microsoft, NBA, NFL, Sony, Tencent, Tesla, Verizon, Warner Bros.

Academy graduates pursue diverse career paths such as:

▪ Director of Strategy

▪ Founder and CEO

▪ Head of Design

▪ Software Engineer

▪ Software Designer

▪ Lead AR Engineer

▪ Creative Content Manager

▪ Art Director

▪ Marketing Manager

▪ Digital Producer

▪ Data Engineer

▪ Management Consultant

▪ Director, Producer, Filmmaker

▪ Innovation and Experience Design Consultant

▪ Design Strategy Consultant

▪ Game Designer

▪ Product Manager

▪ Product Designer

▪ UX/UI Designer

The future leaders for innovative companies like Spotify need to be able to combine creativity, technology and business skills. The Iovine and Young Academy is one of the top schools in the world in teaching its students the integrated skills and mindset needed to propel next generation companies like ours forward.”

— DANIEL EK, CEO OF SPOTIFY

Startups

The Academy’s unique entrepreneurial ecosystem is spurring invention and innovation, giving rise to student-founded companies that are attracting the attention of investors, industry thought leaders, and the media. With funding and support to student ventures from entities such as Sequoia Capital, Greylock Partners, SMASHD Labs, and Y Combinator, the Academy is recognized as a significant talent pipeline for purposedriven innovators and

Notable student-founded companies include:

Mira is an AR hardware and software company that has developed a smartphone-compatible AR headset that can be used in the workplace. Mira was recognized by Inc. Magazine as one of America’s top student-run businesses and their inaugural product, the Mira Prism augmented reality headset, was awarded the prestigious Red Dot Product Design Award for technology.

Wren is a subscription service that offsets an individual’s carbon footprint. For a monthly fee, the service calculates and offsets an individual’s carbon footprint by investing in climate change projects such as tree planting or clean energy. Wren was backed by global accelerator, Y Combinator.

Seaside Ventures is venture capital firm that provides knowledge and operational assistance to startup founders to bridge the gap between an idea and go-tomarket ready product or service. Seaside was cofounded by Academy alumnus Harry Valner ’ 19. Prior to Seaside, Valner launched and sold Kyoku, a food tech brand that develops personalized nutrition for endurance athletes.

Moment House connects artists and their fans through exclusive, online experiences such as concerts, interviews and poetry reading. The company has powered premium ‘moments’ for top creators such as Justin Bieber, Tame Impala, Halsey, and more. Moment House is backed by investors in tech and entertainment such as Scooter Braun, Jimmy Iovine, Troy Carter, Jared Leto, and more.

Playbook is a VR design tool that allows for code-free creation, iteration, and export of immersive UI into one's game engine of choice to spend less time making UI and more time building the XR experience.

Slingshot is building AI-driven platforms to discover artists and help them scale. Although record labels have tremendous influence on the music industry, many of their practices have not kept up-to-date with the emergence of new technologies for marketing and analytics. Slingshot aims to disrupt that and to improve artists’ access to the tools they need to promote themselves—without labels.

I think technology and creativity go hand in hand. If you can master both techniques I think you have the upper hand, especially in today’s world.”

This is a new education for a new world – interdisciplinary, collaborative, realworld. Academy students have the edge because they’re learning to understand multiple points of view and innovate at the intersection of tech, design, culture, and business.”

— JIMMY IOVINE

> INTERSECTION

> INTEGRATION

> INGENUITY

> IMAGINATION

Iovine And Young Hall

Designed to act as a creative partner in the innovation process, Iovine and Young Hall provides critical support for Academy students as they bring their ideas to life. Engineered and designed to maximize collaboration and the unrestricted flow of ideas, the 40,000-square foot building includes:

▪ Fabrication lab for metal, wood, plastics, and electronics

▪ Rapid prototyping lab, including extensive 3D printing and laser cutting options

▪ Large- and medium-scale 2D print lab

▪ Extended Reality (XR) lab

▪ Podcast booth for production and broadcasting

▪ Adaptive studio/lecture classrooms

▪ Small- and large-scale student break-out and conference rooms

▪ Workshops and build facilities

▪ Indoor and outdoor student lounges

With sound and storytelling interwoven in the Academy’s curriculum, the Podcast Studio plays a significant role in the creation of digital content. The Studio is equipped with professional-quality audio broadcasting, recording and editing tools.

The wealth of tools in the maker spaces are intended to enable undirected creative experimentation, not merely facilitate a specific class project or research.

The Academy’s Creator Studio houses a vacuum former and line bender for thermoforming plastics, as well as a vacuum drying oven, which has applications in electronics, aerospace, and chemical industries.

A signature Academy first-year experience, the mural is the first project that requires perfect synchronization and collaboration on the part of each cohort as they blend their unique talents and perspectives into a visually dynamic and cohesive graphic representing their present and future.

The Academy provided a chance for me to combine all my areas of interests into one. I come from Kenya, and try to use art to communicate with the WORLD. I speak four languages and hope to learn my fifth language here: the language of innovation.”

LA + USC LIFE

USC’s strategic location in Los Angeles, widely viewed as the creative and media capital of the world, provides an unrivaled opportunity for students to learn in a living laboratory where media and the visual arts are deeply intertwined. In addition, the university’s proximity to the city’s burgeoning Silicon Beach as well as Northern California’s Silicon Valley provides access to the world’s premiere technology companies from which students can learn and draw inspiration.

As a residential campus, USC’s on-campus resources are available at your doorstep. With residence halls, suites, and apartments, USC offers a variety of housing options to provide a welcoming transition to university life.

With more than 850 clubs and organizations, USC boasts one of the most dynamic and talented student populations in the country. Whether it’s intramural, club and Division I sports; Greek life; student government; or arts and cultural events, students can expand their academic knowledge, pursue an interest, test their leadership skills, or simply have fun at USC.

USC hosts a full and dynamic calendar of events from sports to performing arts to citywide cultural festivals. Off-campus, public and private venues in neighboring Exposition Park and Downtown Los Angeles are among the world’s best. The Trojan Family extends beyond a student’s four years at USC. Alumni form a close and supportive network, now more than 300,000 strong. Students become part of a remarkable group shaping the future of the planet.

For more information, visit www.usc.edu