Join us as we unravel the fascinating journey of Thrasyvoulos Karydis, or Thras, the brilliant mind behind DeepCure's technological revolution in drug discovery. From the serene landscapes of Corfu, Greece, to the bustling halls of MIT, Thras's path is a testament to the power of curiosity and innovation. With a robust background in electrical engineering, computer science, and physics, Thras ventured into the biotechnological frontier, merging AI with molecular biology to spearhead groundbreaking advancements in immunology and inflammation treatments. Discover how his transformative experiences at the MIT Media Lab ignited the spark that would become DeepCure, a company at the cutting edge of therapeutic development.
In our conversation, we explore the synergetic power of AI and human expertise in overcoming the traditional constraints of drug design. Thras shares real-life narratives of initial challenges turning into triumphs, illustrating AI's potential to reshape the landscape of drug discovery. Thras discusses DeepCure's ambitious goals, including upcoming clinical trials for DC9476 targeting rheumatoid arthritis. As DeepCure continues to push boundaries with its innovative platform and open-minded approach, find out how it plans to repeatedly design transformative therapeutics and make a lasting impact on patient lives. Don't miss this insightful episode that promises a glimpse into the future of healthcare innovation.
#ideagenglobal #globalpartnerships #summerdiscovery #thenewschool
Esteban's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/estebanolivares/
Amit's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amitshahnyc/
Learn more about Summer Discovery here: https://www.summerdiscovery.com/
Learn more about The New School here: https://www.newschool.edu/parsons/
Watch the entire Global Partnerships Summit here: https://www.ideagenglobal.com/2024-global-partnerships-summit
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:11):
Hello, thank you for being here with us.
My name is Esteban Olivares.
I am head of New UniversityPartnerships and Managed
Services at Summer Discovery.
Summer Discovery is one of thepremier organizations that are
providing leadershipopportunities for students
during the summer.
We've been doing this for oversix years learning, refining,
(00:33):
creating partnerships withuniversities, helping
universities deliver thoseacademics and, outside of that,
those spaces where studentslearn about themselves, whether
it's through roommates, doinglaundry for the first time,
being away from home andnegotiating, kind of that space
is what Summer Discovery doesand we've been doing it for 60
years and we are the industrytrailblazers and we're very
(00:56):
honored to hold that space.
And so I have today somepartners and some colleagues and
we're going to be talking aboutsummer learning, summer
utilizing university campusesand how do we utilize these
opportunities to build thosefuture leaders.
A lot of what we've beentalking about today are some of
the inherent issues thatstudents will be inheriting when
(01:19):
they become adults, when theybecome us, and how do we prepare
them to be leaders, to takethose challenges on.
So I have with us today ChrisMusi from Parsons School of
Design at the New School andEmmett Shaw from Summer
Discovery.
So we'll take it from here and,gentlemen, if you want to let
us know who you are and what youdo.
Speaker 2 (01:39):
Hi, I'm Chris Musi.
I'm the director of summerintensive studies and youth and
pre-college programs at Parsonsat the New School.
We serve students starting inthe third grade all the way
through high school andpreparation for college and we
have a great partner in summerdiscovery.
Our program is year-round butsort of the jewel of our
portfolio is our summerintensive studies, where
(02:01):
students come, they live with usfor a month, they take one
course six hours a day, fivedays a week, three weeks, and we
are responsible for theirlearning and well-being for 24-7
during the time with us.
We do those sessions in Juneand July and the range of
courses are truly reflective ofParsons and Parsons pedagogy.
(02:22):
Students study fashion designof Parsons and Parsons pedagogy.
Students study fashion design,architecture, product design.
You know, as our conversationprogresses, I can talk about our
pedagogy and how it reflects alot of the issues that were
brought up in earlier panelsthat are very important to
Parsons, such as social justiceand equity and also
sustainability.
Wonderful Thank you, chris.
Speaker 3 (02:43):
Thank you, Chris.
My name is Amit Shah.
I head up StrategicPartnerships for Summer
Discovery.
I'm relatively new to theorganization.
I started earlier this year andI'm tasked with finding and
collaborating with some of thebest companies, organizations,
globally to deliver programs forthe youth that we serve A
(03:04):
little bit of a deeper dive intoSummer Discovery.
You know we've been around for60-plus years.
We've been in the youthdevelopment space for 40-plus
years.
We're the world's largestorganization that does this type
of work.
We offer 300-plus programs andcourses across 20-plus
universities.
We collaborate and partner withamazing institutions such as
Parsons and 50% of the IvyLeagues, and we create these
(03:26):
immersive camps for K-12students, where students get to
go to a campus, live in thedorms, participate in university
activities, use the facilities,attend world-class academics
put together by industry leaders, such as some of the folks in
the room today and world-classprofessors.
(03:46):
But they also get to experiencefield trips and workshops and
guest lecture series and funactivities in a new city, from
concerts to events to visitingthe museum.
So we have students from all 50states and over 80 countries
globally and it really doesround out the experience that
these students have to meetfolks from other cultures,
(04:07):
languages, backgrounds,upbringings, and it really
shapes their future and theirmindset and where they see
themselves down their careerpath.
Speaker 1 (04:17):
Thank you.
Thank you, gentlemen, gladyou're here, glad you're here.
Well, let's get right into it,chris, when we're talking about
cross-sector collaboration,there's a lot that happens,
especially at Parsons and at thenew school, in order for those
eight weeks, nine weeks ofsummer to happen and for the
students high school students tocome on and take college credit
(04:37):
courses.
You're having to deal withacademics, with faculty, with
security, with facilities, butthen you're also working with
other organizations to make surethat you know they can go to
behind the scenes at the Met,that you have Summer Discovery
helping you with the residentiallife pieces, and you also work
with some organizations to helpmake sure that there's
(04:57):
scholarships and there's accessand equity and folks are able to
attend the program if theyotherwise wouldn't be able to
afford it.
So can you dive a little bitdeeper into what those
cross-sector collaborations andwhy partnerships are so
important to make this happenfor youth?
Speaker 2 (05:12):
I'd be very happy to.
So summer 2025 is just aroundthe corner for us.
I've already had five planningmeetings and we have our
schedule builder done.
Of all the courses selected, Ihire almost 100 faculty for the
summertime.
That also includes studentworkers.
I have a huge team.
We have a decent-sized campusin Manhattan.
(05:34):
Our major building takes up thewhole block between 14th and
13th Street on Fifth Avenue andwe have satellite buildings and
Esteban Summer of Discovery is ahuge part of our important
collaboration.
We're responsible for thelivelihood or the lifestyle and
the living of students who comefrom all over the world.
(05:57):
We have students from 40different countries and 40
different states and regionswithin the US.
Their parents are leaving themwith us, often for the first
time.
They're ages 16 to 18.
They bestow a great deal oftrust upon us.
We want to have a greatlearning experience, but also
(06:20):
there's a lot that happensbetween 4, when classes are
dismissed, and midnight atcurfew and Summer Discovery.
We have extracurricularactivities for them each evening
and on weekends and theyinvolve sort of New York City
culture exploring New York,self-care and learning to
(06:41):
network with other students andlearning to network with other
students.
I have students who, when Itaught in a program before I was
a director.
I've had students that I'veknown since they were 15, who
are in their mid-30s to early40s, who are still networking in
terms of businesses and theircareer challenges, which is
really great.
So the new school is quite adecent-sized business.
(07:02):
So I have to start negotiatingwith different areas within the
new school.
So, for example, in the nextmonth I'll be working with our
making center.
So the making center theyprovide all the high tech
technology that our students use, anywhere from the industrial
sewing machines to 3D printingand laser cutting.
And so our students who are inthe disciplines of fashion
(07:27):
architecture, interior design,product design, we want to make
sure they have thestate-of-the-art equipment.
So I have to work with peoplewho work at the university, but
also sometimes outside ofindustry, for donations, for
access to this equipment, andit's quite a nice community.
We have faculty who I would sayall of our faculty teach in the
(07:49):
undergraduate graduate programs.
The new school has a greatforce of adjunct faculty.
Ninety percent of our facultyare adjuncts, so they currently
work in industry as they'reteaching, which is really
remarkable for our students andwe leverage our faculty's
connections with their industry.
So we have quite a few facultywho work on projects on
Governor's Island for therestoration and building there,
(08:10):
so our students will go out toGovernor's Island or our
students have an opportunity forbehind the scenes tours of the
Met Museum or Bergdorf Goodman.
So we really are able to reallyprovide, you know, through our
faculty expertise and theirbusiness relationships, leverage
that.
So that's just within ourcommunity.
And then with Summer Discovery,we really rely on you to you
(08:32):
know that well-roundedexperience so the students can
be successful in the classroom,that they have activities in the
evening and the weekend, andsome of them are doing laundry
for the first time or they're,you know, getting on the subway
for the first time.
So we have Summer Discoveryprovides us with one adult to
every 10 to 12 students thatthey're responsible for and you
(08:57):
know they collaborate with ourfaculty as well too.
So the Summer Discovery staffwill often go on field trips
with our students or meetindustry professionals that we
have come in and if a studentneeds additional support we will
partner together so that thestudent feels heard, both for
their academics and theirlifetime experience.
(09:17):
And then a big part of my jobis to network with people in
industry and also foundations tomake sure that students who
can't afford our programs reallyhave access to them.
So our programs are year-round.
Students can participate instudies with us at all different
price points.
So, for example, our year-roundweekend programs.
I want to make sure that thecourses are popularly priced so
(09:39):
that it would be less than,let's say, daycare, so a parent
can put their third grader inour classes for less than it
would be to have a babysitter.
But then we go all the waythrough the summer programs
where students are studying.
They're receiving three collegecredits, they're having that
undergraduate college experience.
(09:59):
The price becomes much more ofa premium.
So we partner with differentschool districts Across the
river.
We have the Newark High Schoolfor Fashion and Design, powered
by Parsons and I helped developthe curriculum for that high
school where students will studythe fashion industry for four
years and as part of thatexperience they will come and
(10:20):
study with us in the summertimeand that is through.
Very.
You know the Newark Board ofEducation is very, very
successful in how they work withour high schools and how they
create opportunities for that.
We also work with, you know,foundations such as the De La
Cruz Collection and the MiamiFoundation in Florida, so
(10:41):
students from Dash High Schoolcan attend our program.
Those are just actual highschools that have their own
partners that we work with andeverything is also very, you
know, it's not exactlytransactional, but we want to
make sure that we give themsomething in return for them
providing scholarships to thestudents, whether it's marketing
(11:02):
, publicity, support, guestspeakers.
And then we rely onorganizations from the industry
who want to really give back.
So, for example, creatives wantchange is an organization
started by um, the most powerfulexecutives, black executives in
the fashion industry who wantto sort of create a new um, new
(11:24):
idea of access for fashion, andso we work with Creatives Want
Change to make sure thatstudents have full ride
scholarship opportunities.
And also Target we love TargetTarget Advancing Design
Diversity.
We will partner with them wherewe will create workshops and
learning opportunities that theybroadcast and in exchange for
(11:46):
that they provide scholarshipsto our students.
So you know there's a lot ofhours that go behind making sure
that students have scholarshipsto attend our programs.
And then, of course, parsons wegive our own scholarships and
um at any time during the year.
There's probably 40 to 70students who um take our
(12:08):
programs without any cost orexpense.
And many of those students arein our associate scholars
program, where they start theirsophomore year and they attend
classes on weekends and thesummertime all year round.
They graduate and then theyhave access to our admissions
team for opportunities atParsons after high school
(12:28):
graduation.
Speaker 1 (12:29):
Wow, so a lot of networking, a lot of network a
lot, a lot of partnerships, alot of cross-sector.
You know private industry, somediscovery your your own
academics, people in theindustry and are the people that
I work with.
Speaker 2 (12:43):
We all have had careers outside of education.
You know, um, that's what thenew school was very famous for.
I worked in branding andmarketing for Teen Pop Star.
I worked in luxury shoe designprior to this, where I would
come in teach two days a weekand then go back to my full-time
job.
Now this is a full-time gig forme, but we rely a lot on
(13:07):
industry partnerships throughour own community, which is
really great.
Speaker 1 (13:10):
And it's always great to hear from the partners what
happens and everything that itentails to bring the program
together.
A lot of times we're asked whatdoes Summer Discovery do in
these what we call managedservice partnerships?
We help the university or theorganization or the corporation
develop the pre-college program.
But a lot of what we do is itallows you to laser focus on
what you do best building thosescholarships, marketing
(13:33):
enrollment, making sure thefamilies know what to do and how
to do it before they come tocampus and then, once they get
to campus, we take care of allthe rest and make sure that we
have the 24-7 supervision,holistic student development,
and that we are it's synsynchronicity and we work
together to make sure thatthere's a great program for the
students at the end so that theybecome those future leaders in
(13:55):
the future.
We're going to say that programhad an impact.
Speaker 2 (13:58):
So thank you, chris thank you I I think that's very
important because you know um,when you're, when you're working
with college students who canadvocate for themselves, you're
just usually working with oneperson, but we work with the
student and their parent andsometimes their grandparents,
and it's really great to have ateam that can really address
issues that could be anywherefrom academic to just their
(14:21):
living experience in New YorkCity.
So we really have to make surethat we want our students to be
fearless, but we want to createa safety net so that they can
explore their creativity in NewYork but also feel safe and have
their parents have a peace ofmind as well too.
Speaker 1 (14:39):
So Ahmed partnerships , cross-sector corporations,
what does this mean to what youdo and what's happening at Sun
Discovery?
Speaker 3 (14:51):
Sure, just the short of it is, you know, we have
great university partners, wehave great families that we
collaborate and partner with andwe're really, you know, a lot
of the conversation thathappened over the course of
today was how do we think aboutchange for the future, how do we
impact change for generations?
And it really starts with theyouth and being able to show
youth that the impact they canhave, what careers they could,
(15:12):
they could follow, and givingthem an inside view of these
different companies, how theywork and what different paths in
their career could look like,really gives them a
life-changing experience, and soour goal is to really make sure
that we play a small role indeveloping that with youth.
And they say it takes a villageto raise a child.
It takes even more to raise achild.
It takes even more to developthem into someone that's going
to be an industry game-changingindividual that can motivate,
(15:36):
inspire and drive impact.
Speaker 1 (15:39):
That's wonderful and it's kind of just being able to
be that conduit for when there'san idea.
And how do we bring that ideato life?
How do we bring that idea tolife?
How do we bring that vision toaction?
Years ago, ideagen and summerdiscovery talked and we said how
can we bring this ideagenexperience into a summer program
(15:59):
for students?
And now we have a future globalleaders program that runs at
georgetown university I think.
I believe there's about twosessions, 40 students or so
across two sessions last year.
But this has been I think thefourth summer that we've been
running this program, so it'sbeen an amazing opportunity to
work with IdeaGen and developthat program, bring that vision
to life.
So, Chris, can you talk alittle bit about how the summer
(16:28):
programs, how courses fashion,architecture, design do have
impacts to help develop ourfuture leaders?
Speaker 2 (16:36):
It's.
You know.
First of all, we want toreflect pedagogy of the
undergraduate and graduateprograms.
We want, you know, parsonsgreatly values sustainability,
social justice, equity andinclusion.
All of our learning isproject-based learning.
We want to be very contemporaryand and even on the cutting
edge in terms of how our facultypresent courses.
(16:57):
So so, for example, in fashion,there's a huge emphasis on
upcycling.
Our students go out to visitfab scraps where they purchase
fabric that is reclaimed fabricfrom industry.
Their project prompts are it'snot like make the most beautiful
dress, it's like there are waysto address important issues in
(17:21):
the world, even at the smallestof levels.
We want our students to design,reflecting about how they feel
about world issues and theirlife and their responsibilities,
because they have a lot aheadof them.
And then also our faculty,bring in really important
objectives that are important tothem.
So, for example, in our Schoolof Constructed Environments, our
(17:42):
students aren't allowed to usefoam, core and certain adhesives
to build models.
That you know.
Quite often, when our tote bagsand water bottles come in and
getting ready for the students,we break down the boxes and we
save them for students, formodel building, or you know.
So we really have to be verylaser focused on what's
happening in industry.
Now all of our courses areanalog and digital, so a student
(18:05):
will be designing, draping andsewing with their laptop out.
At the same time, we talk aboutzero waste, pattern making.
You know it's.
We really try to push theirthinking and so that they have a
different perspective of whatwill make them unique when they
apply to college and also whatcareers are available to them.
Speaker 1 (18:29):
Insightful.
Thank you, thank you.
Final word, mitt.
So what's your call to action?
So, if you are the IBMs andKPMGs out there wondering how
can I get into summerprogramming, how can I have an
impact, how can we maybe evendevelop something, what's your
call to action?
Speaker 3 (18:47):
Yeah, I think so many organizations are really dialed
in and do a tremendous job ofhaving these conversations at
events like this and they'revery active on university
campuses and with recruitmentand they're very active in the
college world.
But this really starts earlier.
You know, when kids are themost influenced by outside
(19:08):
resources and information, right, they always say if you want to
learn a language, learn it whenyou're a kid, not when you're
an adult.
Right?
If you want a tree to beplanted and grow straight, you
have to make sure the foundationis laid.
Really, you know, at the rightlevel from the very beginning.
And so, you know, for companiesthat want to really reinforce
the change that they're talkingabout, it's collaborating with
(19:28):
organizations like us andinfluencing and impacting
students that are more dialedinto their own social impact and
be and what they can do in thisworld to make this, you know,
better for the next generation.
So call to action is you know,contact us, contact other
organizations like us to getmore involved and just continue
the good work you're doing andcontinue to surface these
(19:49):
conversations so that we're allmore aware.
Speaker 1 (19:52):
Thank, you, gentlemen , appreciate it.
Hello, thank you for being here with us.
My name is Esteban Olivares.
I am head of New UniversityPartnerships and Managed
Services at Summer Discovery.
Summer Discovery is one of thepremier organizations that are
providing leadershipopportunities for students
during the summer.
We've been doing this for oversix years learning, refining,
(00:33):
creating partnerships withuniversities, helping
universities deliver thoseacademics and, outside of that,
those spaces where studentslearn about themselves, whether
it's through roommates, doinglaundry for the first time,
being away from home andnegotiating, kind of that space
is what Summer Discovery doesand we've been doing it for 60
years and we are the industrytrailblazers and we're very
(00:56):
honored to hold that space.
And so I have today somepartners and some colleagues and
we're going to be talking aboutsummer learning, summer
utilizing university campusesand how do we utilize these
opportunities to build thosefuture leaders.
A lot of what we've beentalking about today are some of
the inherent issues thatstudents will be inheriting when
(01:19):
they become adults, when theybecome us, and how do we prepare
them to be leaders, to takethose challenges on.
So I have with us today ChrisMusi from Parsons School of
Design at the New School andEmmett Shaw from Summer
Discovery.
So we'll take it from here and,gentlemen, if you want to let
us know who you are and what youdo.
Speaker 2 (01:39):
Hi, I'm Chris Musi.
I'm the director of summerintensive studies and youth and
pre-college programs at Parsonsat the New School.
We serve students starting inthe third grade all the way
through high school andpreparation for college and we
have a great partner in summerdiscovery.
Our program is year-round butsort of the jewel of our
portfolio is our summerintensive studies, where
(02:01):
students come, they live with usfor a month, they take one
course six hours a day, fivedays a week, three weeks, and we
are responsible for theirlearning and well-being for 24-7
during the time with us.
We do those sessions in Juneand July and the range of
courses are truly reflective ofParsons and Parsons pedagogy.
(02:22):
Students study fashion designof Parsons and Parsons pedagogy.
Students study fashion design,architecture, product design.
You know, as our conversationprogresses, I can talk about our
pedagogy and how it reflects alot of the issues that were
brought up in earlier panelsthat are very important to
Parsons, such as social justiceand equity and also
sustainability.
Wonderful Thank you, chris.
Speaker 3 (02:43):
Thank you, Chris.
My name is Amit Shah.
I head up StrategicPartnerships for Summer
Discovery.
I'm relatively new to theorganization.
I started earlier this year andI'm tasked with finding and
collaborating with some of thebest companies, organizations,
globally to deliver programs forthe youth that we serve A
(03:04):
little bit of a deeper dive intoSummer Discovery.
You know we've been around for60-plus years.
We've been in the youthdevelopment space for 40-plus
years.
We're the world's largestorganization that does this type
of work.
We offer 300-plus programs andcourses across 20-plus
universities.
We collaborate and partner withamazing institutions such as
Parsons and 50% of the IvyLeagues, and we create these
(03:26):
immersive camps for K-12students, where students get to
go to a campus, live in thedorms, participate in university
activities, use the facilities,attend world-class academics
put together by industry leaders, such as some of the folks in
the room today and world-classprofessors.
(03:46):
But they also get to experiencefield trips and workshops and
guest lecture series and funactivities in a new city, from
concerts to events to visitingthe museum.
So we have students from all 50states and over 80 countries
globally and it really doesround out the experience that
these students have to meetfolks from other cultures,
(04:07):
languages, backgrounds,upbringings, and it really
shapes their future and theirmindset and where they see
themselves down their careerpath.
Speaker 1 (04:17):
Thank you.
Thank you, gentlemen, gladyou're here, glad you're here.
Well, let's get right into it,chris, when we're talking about
cross-sector collaboration,there's a lot that happens,
especially at Parsons and at thenew school, in order for those
eight weeks, nine weeks ofsummer to happen and for the
students high school students tocome on and take college credit
(04:37):
courses.
You're having to deal withacademics, with faculty, with
security, with facilities, butthen you're also working with
other organizations to make surethat you know they can go to
behind the scenes at the Met,that you have Summer Discovery
helping you with the residentiallife pieces, and you also work
with some organizations to helpmake sure that there's
(04:57):
scholarships and there's accessand equity and folks are able to
attend the program if theyotherwise wouldn't be able to
afford it.
So can you dive a little bitdeeper into what those
cross-sector collaborations andwhy partnerships are so
important to make this happenfor youth?
Speaker 2 (05:12):
I'd be very happy to.
So summer 2025 is just aroundthe corner for us.
I've already had five planningmeetings and we have our
schedule builder done.
Of all the courses selected, Ihire almost 100 faculty for the
summertime.
That also includes studentworkers.
I have a huge team.
We have a decent-sized campusin Manhattan.
(05:34):
Our major building takes up thewhole block between 14th and
13th Street on Fifth Avenue andwe have satellite buildings and
Esteban Summer of Discovery is ahuge part of our important
collaboration.
We're responsible for thelivelihood or the lifestyle and
the living of students who comefrom all over the world.
(05:57):
We have students from 40different countries and 40
different states and regionswithin the US.
Their parents are leaving themwith us, often for the first
time.
They're ages 16 to 18.
They bestow a great deal oftrust upon us.
We want to have a greatlearning experience, but also
(06:20):
there's a lot that happensbetween 4, when classes are
dismissed, and midnight atcurfew and Summer Discovery.
We have extracurricularactivities for them each evening
and on weekends and theyinvolve sort of New York City
culture exploring New York,self-care and learning to
(06:41):
network with other students andlearning to network with other
students.
I have students who, when Itaught in a program before I was
a director.
I've had students that I'veknown since they were 15, who
are in their mid-30s to early40s, who are still networking in
terms of businesses and theircareer challenges, which is
really great.
So the new school is quite adecent-sized business.
(07:02):
So I have to start negotiatingwith different areas within the
new school.
So, for example, in the nextmonth I'll be working with our
making center.
So the making center theyprovide all the high tech
technology that our students use, anywhere from the industrial
sewing machines to 3D printingand laser cutting.
And so our students who are inthe disciplines of fashion
(07:27):
architecture, interior design,product design, we want to make
sure they have thestate-of-the-art equipment.
So I have to work with peoplewho work at the university, but
also sometimes outside ofindustry, for donations, for
access to this equipment, andit's quite a nice community.
We have faculty who I would sayall of our faculty teach in the
(07:49):
undergraduate graduate programs.
The new school has a greatforce of adjunct faculty.
Ninety percent of our facultyare adjuncts, so they currently
work in industry as they'reteaching, which is really
remarkable for our students andwe leverage our faculty's
connections with their industry.
So we have quite a few facultywho work on projects on
Governor's Island for therestoration and building there,
(08:10):
so our students will go out toGovernor's Island or our
students have an opportunity forbehind the scenes tours of the
Met Museum or Bergdorf Goodman.
So we really are able to reallyprovide, you know, through our
faculty expertise and theirbusiness relationships, leverage
that.
So that's just within ourcommunity.
And then with Summer Discovery,we really rely on you to you
(08:32):
know that well-roundedexperience so the students can
be successful in the classroom,that they have activities in the
evening and the weekend, andsome of them are doing laundry
for the first time or they're,you know, getting on the subway
for the first time.
So we have Summer Discoveryprovides us with one adult to
every 10 to 12 students thatthey're responsible for and you
(08:57):
know they collaborate with ourfaculty as well too.
So the Summer Discovery staffwill often go on field trips
with our students or meetindustry professionals that we
have come in and if a studentneeds additional support we will
partner together so that thestudent feels heard, both for
their academics and theirlifetime experience.
(09:17):
And then a big part of my jobis to network with people in
industry and also foundations tomake sure that students who
can't afford our programs reallyhave access to them.
So our programs are year-round.
Students can participate instudies with us at all different
price points.
So, for example, our year-roundweekend programs.
I want to make sure that thecourses are popularly priced so
(09:39):
that it would be less than,let's say, daycare, so a parent
can put their third grader inour classes for less than it
would be to have a babysitter.
But then we go all the waythrough the summer programs
where students are studying.
They're receiving three collegecredits, they're having that
undergraduate college experience.
(09:59):
The price becomes much more ofa premium.
So we partner with differentschool districts Across the
river.
We have the Newark High Schoolfor Fashion and Design, powered
by Parsons and I helped developthe curriculum for that high
school where students will studythe fashion industry for four
years and as part of thatexperience they will come and
(10:20):
study with us in the summertimeand that is through.
Very.
You know the Newark Board ofEducation is very, very
successful in how they work withour high schools and how they
create opportunities for that.
We also work with, you know,foundations such as the De La
Cruz Collection and the MiamiFoundation in Florida, so
(10:41):
students from Dash High Schoolcan attend our program.
Those are just actual highschools that have their own
partners that we work with andeverything is also very, you
know, it's not exactlytransactional, but we want to
make sure that we give themsomething in return for them
providing scholarships to thestudents, whether it's marketing
(11:02):
, publicity, support, guestspeakers.
And then we rely onorganizations from the industry
who want to really give back.
So, for example, creatives wantchange is an organization
started by um, the most powerfulexecutives, black executives in
the fashion industry who wantto sort of create a new um, new
(11:24):
idea of access for fashion, andso we work with Creatives Want
Change to make sure thatstudents have full ride
scholarship opportunities.
And also Target we love TargetTarget Advancing Design
Diversity.
We will partner with them wherewe will create workshops and
learning opportunities that theybroadcast and in exchange for
(11:46):
that they provide scholarshipsto our students.
So you know there's a lot ofhours that go behind making sure
that students have scholarshipsto attend our programs.
And then, of course, parsons wegive our own scholarships and
um at any time during the year.
There's probably 40 to 70students who um take our
(12:08):
programs without any cost orexpense.
And many of those students arein our associate scholars
program, where they start theirsophomore year and they attend
classes on weekends and thesummertime all year round.
They graduate and then theyhave access to our admissions
team for opportunities atParsons after high school
(12:28):
graduation.
Speaker 1 (12:29):
Wow, so a lot of networking, a lot of network a
lot, a lot of partnerships, alot of cross-sector.
You know private industry, somediscovery your your own
academics, people in theindustry and are the people that
I work with.
Speaker 2 (12:43):
We all have had careers outside of education.
You know, um, that's what thenew school was very famous for.
I worked in branding andmarketing for Teen Pop Star.
I worked in luxury shoe designprior to this, where I would
come in teach two days a weekand then go back to my full-time
job.
Now this is a full-time gig forme, but we rely a lot on
(13:07):
industry partnerships throughour own community, which is
really great.
Speaker 1 (13:10):
And it's always great to hear from the partners what
happens and everything that itentails to bring the program
together.
A lot of times we're asked whatdoes Summer Discovery do in
these what we call managedservice partnerships?
We help the university or theorganization or the corporation
develop the pre-college program.
But a lot of what we do is itallows you to laser focus on
what you do best building thosescholarships, marketing
(13:33):
enrollment, making sure thefamilies know what to do and how
to do it before they come tocampus and then, once they get
to campus, we take care of allthe rest and make sure that we
have the 24-7 supervision,holistic student development,
and that we are it's synsynchronicity and we work
together to make sure thatthere's a great program for the
students at the end so that theybecome those future leaders in
(13:55):
the future.
We're going to say that programhad an impact.
Speaker 2 (13:58):
So thank you, chris thank you I I think that's very
important because you know um,when you're, when you're working
with college students who canadvocate for themselves, you're
just usually working with oneperson, but we work with the
student and their parent andsometimes their grandparents,
and it's really great to have ateam that can really address
issues that could be anywherefrom academic to just their
(14:21):
living experience in New YorkCity.
So we really have to make surethat we want our students to be
fearless, but we want to createa safety net so that they can
explore their creativity in NewYork but also feel safe and have
their parents have a peace ofmind as well too.
Speaker 1 (14:39):
So Ahmed partnerships , cross-sector corporations,
what does this mean to what youdo and what's happening at Sun
Discovery?
Speaker 3 (14:51):
Sure, just the short of it is, you know, we have
great university partners, wehave great families that we
collaborate and partner with andwe're really, you know, a lot
of the conversation thathappened over the course of
today was how do we think aboutchange for the future, how do we
impact change for generations?
And it really starts with theyouth and being able to show
youth that the impact they canhave, what careers they could,
(15:12):
they could follow, and givingthem an inside view of these
different companies, how theywork and what different paths in
their career could look like,really gives them a
life-changing experience, and soour goal is to really make sure
that we play a small role indeveloping that with youth.
And they say it takes a villageto raise a child.
It takes even more to raise achild.
It takes even more to developthem into someone that's going
to be an industry game-changingindividual that can motivate,
(15:36):
inspire and drive impact.
Speaker 1 (15:39):
That's wonderful and it's kind of just being able to
be that conduit for when there'san idea.
And how do we bring that ideato life?
How do we bring that idea tolife?
How do we bring that vision toaction?
Years ago, ideagen and summerdiscovery talked and we said how
can we bring this ideagenexperience into a summer program
(15:59):
for students?
And now we have a future globalleaders program that runs at
georgetown university I think.
I believe there's about twosessions, 40 students or so
across two sessions last year.
But this has been I think thefourth summer that we've been
running this program, so it'sbeen an amazing opportunity to
work with IdeaGen and developthat program, bring that vision
to life.
So, Chris, can you talk alittle bit about how the summer
(16:28):
programs, how courses fashion,architecture, design do have
impacts to help develop ourfuture leaders?
Speaker 2 (16:36):
It's.
You know.
First of all, we want toreflect pedagogy of the
undergraduate and graduateprograms.
We want, you know, parsonsgreatly values sustainability,
social justice, equity andinclusion.
All of our learning isproject-based learning.
We want to be very contemporaryand and even on the cutting
edge in terms of how our facultypresent courses.
(16:57):
So so, for example, in fashion,there's a huge emphasis on
upcycling.
Our students go out to visitfab scraps where they purchase
fabric that is reclaimed fabricfrom industry.
Their project prompts are it'snot like make the most beautiful
dress, it's like there are waysto address important issues in
(17:21):
the world, even at the smallestof levels.
We want our students to design,reflecting about how they feel
about world issues and theirlife and their responsibilities,
because they have a lot aheadof them.
And then also our faculty,bring in really important
objectives that are important tothem.
So, for example, in our Schoolof Constructed Environments, our
(17:42):
students aren't allowed to usefoam, core and certain adhesives
to build models.
That you know.
Quite often, when our tote bagsand water bottles come in and
getting ready for the students,we break down the boxes and we
save them for students, formodel building, or you know.
So we really have to be verylaser focused on what's
happening in industry.
Now all of our courses areanalog and digital, so a student
(18:05):
will be designing, draping andsewing with their laptop out.
At the same time, we talk aboutzero waste, pattern making.
You know it's.
We really try to push theirthinking and so that they have a
different perspective of whatwill make them unique when they
apply to college and also whatcareers are available to them.
Speaker 1 (18:29):
Insightful.
Thank you, thank you.
Final word, mitt.
So what's your call to action?
So, if you are the IBMs andKPMGs out there wondering how
can I get into summerprogramming, how can I have an
impact, how can we maybe evendevelop something, what's your
call to action?
Speaker 3 (18:47):
Yeah, I think so many organizations are really dialed
in and do a tremendous job ofhaving these conversations at
events like this and they'revery active on university
campuses and with recruitmentand they're very active in the
college world.
But this really starts earlier.
You know, when kids are themost influenced by outside
(19:08):
resources and information, right, they always say if you want to
learn a language, learn it whenyou're a kid, not when you're
an adult.
Right?
If you want a tree to beplanted and grow straight, you
have to make sure the foundationis laid.
Really, you know, at the rightlevel from the very beginning.
And so, you know, for companiesthat want to really reinforce
the change that they're talkingabout, it's collaborating with
(19:28):
organizations like us andinfluencing and impacting
students that are more dialedinto their own social impact and
be and what they can do in thisworld to make this, you know,
better for the next generation.
So call to action is you know,contact us, contact other
organizations like us to getmore involved and just continue
the good work you're doing andcontinue to surface these
(19:49):
conversations so that we're allmore aware.
Speaker 1 (19:52):
Thank, you, gentlemen , appreciate it.
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