July 1, 2015

It's summer, and while for many that means vacation, this is when we kick into high gear at ExCITe. There are lots of new faces and activities, many of which align with our theme for this month's podcast: Civic Innovation. Our University President, John Fry, has charged Drexel with becoming the most civically engaged university in the United States. We take that commitment very seriously at ExCITe, and we pursue that agenda in novel and innovative ways through the intersection of design, technology, and entrepreneurship.

For example, you've heard about our collaborations with Open Access Philly, to bring together innovators across the region; Code for Philly, to pursue civic hacking;  and with Girl Develop It and TechGirlz in support of greater diversity in learning  about coding and technology. We're thrilled to host some of these activities at the ExCITe Center. This month will also be the ninth year of our Summer Music Technology program, a one week camp for high school students that uses music technology to motivate interest in science, technology, engineering, and math (known as STEM). But we think it's a great embodiment of STEAM, demonstrating how the arts and STEM fields intersect creatively and inspire each other.

We just presented Remix Interactive 2, the second instance of an interactive music performance, bringing together multiple high schools and performing arts groups from across Philadelphia. Students from all of these groups did an incredible job putting this work together, from composition, app development, rehearsal, to a performance for the International Society of Technology in Education conference at the PA Convention Center, which attracts over 18,000 educators from around the world.

The ExCITe Center has also partnered with prominent and historic civic institutions, such as the Mayor's Office of New Urban Mechanics, the Franklin Institute, Opera Philadelphia, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, and the Philadelphia Orchestra. Our LiveNote app will be featured in the Orchestra's free neighborhood concert on July 30 at Verizon Hall. These are just a few examples demonstrating our belief in how multidisciplinary collaboration spanning design, technology, and entrepreneurship can foster tremendous innovation in cities and civic life.

Youngmoo Kim, Director