Overview

The Independent Inquiry Program provides MIAD students the opportunity to receive philanthropically sourced funding while investigating how artists and designers can use emerging technology in ways not currently employed in MIAD’s curriculum.

The rate of profound technological developments which affect art and design is accelerating.  It is difficult for a traditional undergraduate curriculum to effectively adapt to these developments without additional support.  We are also seeing increasing demand for graduates that can adeptly identify and use transformational technologies as they emerge. This program serves as support for the college and its students to meet both those needs, helping the college and its graduates be recognized as forward-thinking, constantly relevant, and highly adaptable.

How it Works

MIAD’s Director of Emerging Technology works with an advisory panel of MIAD staff and faculty to determine a list of inquiry topics relating to technologies that will likely affect artists and designers, but are not yet fully integrated into the MIAD curriculum. Each topic has a list of specific questions to be investigated. Through a process of independent inquiry and research, the answers to these questions populate an online knowledge base which is publicly accessible. This knowledge base can then be used as a basis for further investigations by the MIAD community to support curricular development using these technologies.

Students can apply by submitting a proposal to investigate one of the questions during a 6 or 15 week funded investigation under the supervision of a MIAD staff or faculty. The advisory panel reviews the proposals, and awards one funded inquiry for each question. The student receives a stipend to begin their inquiry. The student attempts to answer the question through independent inquiry and applied research. At the end of the investigation, the student submits the results of their inquiry as a contribution to the Emerging Technology Center’s Knowledge Base following a templated format. The advisory panel then reviews the submission and if successful, the student receives the remainder of the stipend.

Funding Level and Inquiry Duration

There are two levels of Inquiry that students can engage in: Mini and Standard.

Mini

Mini Inquiries pay a stipend of $1200 and have a six week duration. All first time applicants are eligible to apply for a Mini Inquiry. Stipend Payment is divided into two stages. Half the stipend is paid at the onset of the inquiry, and half is paid when the advisory panel approves the final submission.

Standard

Standard Inquiries have a fifteen week duration and pay a stipend of $3000. Due to the longer timeframe of these inquiries, Stipends are paid in three installments. One third is paid at the start of the investigation, One third is paid after a 7 week progress review conducted by the Director of Emerging Technology. The third stipend is paid upon panel approval of the final submission. At the 7 week progress review, if the Director of Emerging Technology has concerns about the level of progress, or the quality of the work, they may ask the review panel to consider ending the Inquiry early, and withhold the final stipend payment.

Advisory Panel Approval

In the event the advisory panel does not approve the final submission, the panel will produce a written response indicating the submission’s deficiencies. The student will have 2 weeks to make the corrections necessary to address these deficiencies and resubmit to the advisory panel for final approval.

In the case of the 7 week progress review resulting in a termination of the inquiry, the advisory panel will produce a written response describing what deficiencies are cause for the suspension. Continued investigation is stopped, and the student will have 2 weeks to correct the deficiencies and resubmit a new progress report. If the new progress report is approved, the Investigation may continue for the further 8 weeks to completion.

Criteria for Evaluation

All evaluation is based on determining if the inquiry resulted in useful, transferable knowledge. Ideally, this takes the form of answering the specific question addressed in the original proposal. However, there are times when the question could not be reasonably answered in the time allotted for the inquiry. This will happen when the original question is too broad, or unforeseen complexities are revealed during the investigation. In these cases, there must be a clear platform present in the submission for further investigations to the original question. Demonstrating what doesn’t work is as useful information as showing what does work.

In all cases, the format of presentation is a proposed entry for the ETC Knowledge Base, or a significant contribution to an existing article.

Looking at the proposed entry, the advisory panel will consider the following questions:

  • Was the Inquiry Question sufficiently answered? If not, was there enough knowledge presented for further inquiries on the same question?
  • Does the format of the submission ensure the knowledge is accessible and comprehensible by the intended audience?
  • Is there evidence the results of the investigation can be directly applied to art / design practice? Has the ‘answer’ been tested?
  • Is there evidence of sufficient time in the Emerging Technology Center working on the inquiry?
  • Is there good documentation of process?

    Other Requirements

  • 3 hours per week of inquiry work while in MIAD’s Emerging Technology Center under the supervision of the Director of Emerging Technology.
  • Video / Photo documentation of work done while in the Emerging Technology Center
  • Public presentation to the MIAD community of the work done through the inquiry

    How to Apply

    Students interested in applying should start by reviewing the current list of Inquiry Topics and Questions, and determine which inquiry question they would like to pursue. Students are then welcome to request the Inquiry Proposal Form by emailing bendembroski@miad.edu.