Challenge-Based Learning (CBL) is a foundational component of the Academy Learning framework. Using a unique blend of society and industry-driven challenge prompts, Academy students learn to develop projects in response to complex problems facing individuals, communities, organizations, and society at large. With the Academy’s model of CBL, students develop skills and knowledge in and between design, business, communication, and technology to bring an idea to life and build tangible prototypes. Through experimentation, iteration, collaboration, and reflection, students develop a powerful mental framework to analyze challenges and synthesize information to advance human-centric solutions towards a sustainable and equitable future.

The Academy’s CBL model provides a powerful professional experience for students, while advancing the skills they need to succeed, wherever they choose to go:

 Critical Thinking: Students conduct rigorous research to identify and validate problems worth solving.

Collaboration: Realizing the full complexity and dimensionality of a problem reinforces the need to work with a diverse team and learn to understand different processes and perspectives.

Creative Problem Solving: Students leverage competencies in design, business, technology, and communication developed through the Academy’s signature curriculum and focused ‘toolkits’ to explore how disciplinary intersections and combinations generate new insights and solutions.

Knowledge Transfer: Bringing together insights from various industries and disciplines to create a stronger solution.

Communication: Students develop the ability to bring clarity to a problem and inspire an audience with a solution.

Iteration and Agility: Students engage in continuous reflection, experimentation, iteration, and learning.

Creative Facilitation and Systems thinking: Students learn to coordinate and manage complex projects, systems, and teams.

Design Strategy: Design-driven innovation that balances the needs of business with the needs of people.

Challenge-Based Learning is interwoven throughout the academic experience and made available to students across our undergraduate and graduate programs.

Introductory Courses, such as Innovators Forum and Disruptive Innovation, provide students with the tools they need to confront challenges; a safe space to tackle problems with faculty and industry guests.

The Academy’s diverse range of intersectional areas represent the unique expertise of the school and its faculty.

Faculty work with students to launch projects in response to societal challenges, such as social justice, health innovation, climate change, and more.

Industry and Society-Driven Challenges advance students into a situation in which they need to work collaboratively to address a real-world problem space.

Students engage in semester-long courses as well as pop-up hackathons and “labs” that challenge them to address urgent problems, with real stakes.

Challenges are aligned with industry needs; student and faculty interests and expertise.

Private sector partnerships include Mattel, adidas, EY; public and social sector industry partnerships include the American Heart Association, LAX, and the City of Los Angeles.

Student-Driven Ventures are mentored by faculty and industry guests, and include undergraduate and graduate capstone courses and an annual Venture Showcase which work together to empower student founders, foster innovation, and create a lasting impact within the Academy community and beyond.

Students themselves identify challenges through a process of iterative discernment, prompting, prototyping, and feedback.

Students launch ventures, products, services, campaigns, organizations, and careers that tackle the challenges they most care about.

Along the journey, students meet with industry leaders, investors, and other partners on and off the USC campus (i.e. AMI, EY) to receive direct feedback on their work, test their strategy on professional experts, and more.

ACAD-360 Design Strategy: Problem-Solving for Organizations

ACAD-432 Collaborative Prototyping in Health Innovation

IDSN-515 Professional Practices Residential

Matthew Manos

Matthew Manos, Director of Challenge-Based Learning; Associate Professor of Practice, Design Strategy

Yihyun Lim, Assistant Professor of Practice, Design

Malcolm Jones, Post Doctoral Director of Health Innovation

SeoYoon Sung, Research Assistant Professor

Within the CBL model, students develop skills and knowledge in design, business, communication, and technology to bring an idea to life and build tangible prototypes.

Iovine and Young Academy students collaborate with adidas to create the ultimate COPA experience.

adidas x IYA

Using industry-facing initiatives and challenge prompts, Iovine and Young Academy students develop projects in response to complex problems facing individuals, communities, organizations, and society at large.

Challenge-Based Learning

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