From Learners to Leaders

Join ID for a community conversation about career trajectories and the state of design today. Three ID alumni will speak about their experiences thus far and why they continue to work in the ever-evolving field of design.

ID Dean Anijo Mathew moderates a conversation with:

• Ric Edinberg (MDes 2004), a Bloomberg City coach and the US President for the Evolved Group, a conversational AI-enabled market research technology. Ric works in civic innovation, enabling the future of human-centered design, and advising on new ventures.
• Ruth Schmidt (MDes 2009), an Associate Professor at the Institute of Design who is focused on behavioral design. Ruth's teaching and research integrate humanity-centered design, systems design, and behavioral science to address behavioral challenges more systematically and equitably.
• Martin Zabeleta (MDes 2005), a designer and innovation consultant who works with organizations to increase their positive impact in the world. Martin has worked at IDEO, INSITUM, and Fjord and currently co-leads Cardinal, a human-centered design firm in Latin America.

EPIC 2023 attendees welcome!

ID alumni: please attend and reconnect with your alumni community. Better yet: please attend and bring a prospective learner in an effort to build your alumni community!

About the Institute of Design (ID)

At the Institute of Design (ID) at Illinois Tech, we look at the world in new ways to create the change we hope to see in it. Since our founding by Bauhaus émigré László Moholy-Nagy in 1937, we’ve continually turned design into a powerful tool anyone can use to transform the systems that shape our lives—from cities, education, and finance to food, healthcare, and technology.

We’re the only US design school devoted completely to graduate students, and the first to offer a PhD. By uniting science and rigor with creativity and rapid iteration, we’re recognized around the globe as pioneers in human-centered design, systems design, and other methods that apply design to the real world.

It’s through these unique approaches that students, communities, and organizations learn to observe the systems they’re surrounded by—and envision the new worlds they can build from them. Here, learners and leaders discover what design makes possible. How it enables us to adapt with the speed, scale, and complexity of life. To anticipate change and the impact of our actions. And, most importantly, to imagine—then create—brighter futures for us all. Learn more about ID at id.iit.edu.