Expanding on the concepts laid out in his book Artscience: Creativity in the Post-Google Generation (2008), David Edwards developed an undergraduate course—the Idea Translation Lab (ITL) at Harvard University — to educate students through the process of creation, to explore ideas and conduct experiments at the intersection of art and science, and to create social impact. Through the Idea Translation Lab at Harvard experts guide students from many disciplines as they learn to fuse analytical and intuitive methods to produce new solutions for pressing issues in the global community. Mentored by field experts, student teams create presentations and reports that articulate their project ideas and implementation plan, and illustrate projects' cross-disciplinary journeys through the arts and sciences.
In just a few years, the ITL course has empowered hundreds of students at Harvard University to become creative thinkers who are able to bring cross-disciplinary ideas from concept to implesmentation. ITL group projects have received prizes and grants from organizations including the MIT 100K Entrepreneurship Competition, the World Bank, and various entrepreneurship and energy competitions. In past years, students have pursued their projects in Europe, Africa, and the United States. Many ITL students receive graduate fellowships to continue their work, while others go on to study at top-ranked institutions in the arts and sciences or to work in unique start-ups.
The Boston 100K ArtScience Innovation Prize is built on the ITL artscience curriculum, helping students develop the skills and knowledge to bring their ideas from concept to fruition in ways that address pressing global needs.
