Part of the UEDA Awards of Excellence Webinar Series

East Carolina University Middle School Innovators Academy The Middle School Innovators Academy (MSIA) immerses students in an intensive innovation curriculum and environment in which they must utilize STEAM principles and skills. East Carolina University designed the MSIA to combine a multi-week afterschool program with a 9-day, hands-on capstone innovation experience to train young innovators in 1) the visual, translating language of design, 2) leadership of the problem-solving innovation process, and 3) communication of the investment value of their ideas and solutions. This approach and infrastructure creates a complete set of STEAM learning resources, programs, and experiences, utilizing a previously implemented and tested conceptual framework for informal science education and innovation training. This framework is guided by the principles that the design process is the bridge between the arts and the sciences and enables creative and innovative activity that draws upon STEAM knowledge and skills.