Carolyn Baldwin, Head of School at All Saints Academy, Dr. Saeed Ardia, "Chief Excitement Officer" for NuVu Studio and FSC President Dr. Anne B. Kerr will be partnering to conduct a four-week enhanced-learning program on the FSC campus from June 11 to July 6. See more photos »

LAKELAND (Jan. 27, 2012) – Polk County middle and high school students will have an innovative learning opportunity this summer through a joint partnership announced today with NuVu Studio of Cambridge, Mass., All Saints’ Academy, and Florida Southern College.

Under a partnership agreement, NuVu Studio will conduct a four-week enhanced-learning program on the FSC campus from June 11 to July 6.

The program employs a “design studio” educational model, in which students work in teams with a coach and use a multi-disciplinary approach to problem-solving. The model is intensive and fun and fosters collaboration, communication and presentation skills. As they work on a project, students learn concepts of math, science, computer programming, robotics, writing, music and film.

In remarks at a ceremony in the Christoverson Humanities Building, FSC President Anne B. Kerr noted that the program would help address recent calls by state leaders for more emphasis on science, technology, engineering and math – the STEM disciplines – among high schools and colleges.

“It is clear that in order for America to retain its position as a leader in education and industry, and to prepare our students for this wonderfully competitive global economy, our students need a strong background in science, technology, math and engineering – which must start in grade school, intensify in middle school and reach new learning outcomes in high school so they are prepared for rigorous college and university science programs,” she said.

Under the partnership arrangement, instructors for the summer programs will be drawn from the faculty of NuVu Studio. All Saints Academy will be NuVu Studio’s partner to make the opportunity available to local middle and high school students and assist in conducting the program. Florida Southern College will provide state-of-the-art facilities for the program, and the College’s faculty will assist in mentoring students.

Launched in 2010, NuVu Studio conducts educational programs at its studio in Cambridge and has formed partnerships to conduct short-term programs with a select number of top schools around the country.

Carolyn Baldwin, head of school at All Saints Academy, said she contacted Dr. Saeed Arida, the founder and “chief excitement officer” of NuVu Studio, after learning about NuVu’s unusual approach of uniting the teaching of scientific and technical disciplines with creative and artistic fields.

“The ability to create computer programs and robotics with art and music will be the engine of all progress in society. Dr. Arida and his team have given birth to a new approach – ‘disruptive innovation’ – that will change the focus of pedagogy,” she said.

Dr. Arida received a Ph.D. in Design and Computation from the Architecture School at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. His doctoral research focused on teaching creativity and ultimately developed into NuVu Studio.

At the ceremony, reading his remarks from his iPhone, Dr. Arida said he fell in love with the Frank Lloyd Wright architecture on the FSC campus, which provides an appropriately innovative setting for the NuVu program.
“I wanted to spend a month on the campus. We are extremely thrilled to part of this community for the summer,” he said.

The program will have superheroes as its theme, and students can choose among several topics related to the theme, from “gizmos” to fashion to transportation, for their studio projects.

Classes meet daily for four weeks from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., Monday through Friday, and the cost is $4,000. A residential option is available for additional cost.