It’s the first of its kind at CCAC, the new “Innovation Lab,” which will connect industry representatives with students and faculty in project-based and interdisciplinary learning opportunities. The lab was unveiled, Jan. 25, with a ribbon-cutting ceremony at CCAC’s North Campus, 8701 Perry Highway.
“The new lab is very innovative, it will provide our faculty to provide our students access to the technology that will further enhance their learning, that closer align with business and industry needs, and they will be well-prepared for the next step, either going into the workplace or continuing their studies at the four-year college of choice,” Dr. Quintin Bullock, CCAC president, told the New Pittsburgh Courier in an exclusive interview. “What this really speaks to is CCAC demonstrating our commitment to ensuring our students are getting the high-quality education and instruction, being exposed to current technologies that will further advance their preparation for the workforce.”
Dr. Bullock said CCAC students at any location can take a class that features working in the new Innovation Lab.
Sure, the lab is full of computers that have a wide range of multi-media and 3-D animation programs for students. But Eric Darsow, instructor in the CIT faculty department, said the configuration of the lab room is meant for less independence, more togetherness.
“We’re trying to take what’s normally a computer lab, which is very sterile, and rows of computers, and blend it with a flexible enough space that we can think and work together, and then move to the computers when we’re ready,” he told the Courier. “The focus isn’t necessarily the computers, the focus is who are we working with, what are we working on, rather than, let’s go to a lecture, in a computer lab, they tell us to click here and click here.”
Darsow said students can team up, bounce a myriad of ideas that they’ll write on large boards set up in the middle of the Innovation Lab, “then go to the computers, work on something, and then come back together.”
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