JMU X-Labs

🚀 To help grow our innovative, design-thinking programs, we've launched a new course proposal system for faculty! X-Labs courses are unique as faculty collaborate with peers from different colleges, using a design-thinking approach to form courses to solve real-world problems. Are you an interested JMU faculty member and want to learn more? 📨 Contact us at jmuxlabscourses@jmu.edu to connect with X-Labs Assistant Directors of Engaged Learning Adrienne Hooker, associate professor of media arts and design, and Masoud Kaveh, associate professor of physics. 🖥️ Learn what makes X-Labs courses uniquely 'X-Labs' and view the course proposal form: Design an X-Labs Course - JMU

🎧 The Reimagined Internship is featured on James Madison University's Being the Change podcast. Listen to JMU X-Labs director, Connie Frigo, internship student Bonnie Pohland, and Senior Director of JMU Corporate & Foundation Relations Carrie Combs discuss the groundbreaking Reimagined Internship with Ellucian pilot program. This successful, innovative initiative is changing the game when it comes to higher education, workforce development, and private industry collaborative partnerships. We've launched our second cohort with Ellucian and applications are due by Friday, November 15. Learn more on our website (link in the comments!). Interested in partnering with X-Labs? Send us a message and we'll be in touch! 🎙️ https://lnkd.in/e8WhkmPb

We had a great time at QuadFest during #JMUHomecoming weekend sharing information about our courses, programs and JMU Esports! Go Dukes! 💜💛 👀 Stay tuned for information about our Spring '25 courses and new initiatives we're launching to grow our innovative, design-thinking programs.

🎉 Ellucian & JMU X-Labs are partnering for the second consecutive year to offer a dynamic internship program for a 10-member cohort of JMU students (sophomores, juniors, seniors and graduate)! This unique #workforcedevelopment program helps bridge the gap between college and the workforce. Through a blend of classroom instruction and practical application, students chosen for The Reimagined Internship will learn the entire software development lifecycle, from problem identification to solution implementation. 💻 Learn more and share with qualified students here: https://lnkd.in/e4DFTVcj.

🎥 Check out this WHSV-TV3 segment with Connie Frigo, JMU X-Labs executive director, to discover our successful Reimagined Internship program, which tackles the complex question: "How can partnerships between higher education and industry promote creative processes that lead to innovation?" Through our collaborative, cross-disciplinary model with industry partners, we empower students to redefine the possibilities of their degrees. https://lnkd.in/dNQzYPvh

#JMUHomecoming week is here! To all our X-Labs friends, incorporate official X-Labs merchandise in with your purple and gold gear! You can order online here: https://lnkd.in/e-THpHh4. How do you plan to join in the festivities? JMU Esports will be hosting a booth on Friday at QuadFest — stop by and say "Hi!"

Flashback Friday >> In April, we hosted our annual Innovation Summit to celebrate the innovative work of our students, faculty, partners, and Innovation and Impact Fellows. During the event, we shared our strategic vision for X-Labs 2.0, which focuses on our commitment to cross-disciplinary and collaborative pedagogy in teaching, growing work-based learning opportunities for students, cultivating both internal and external partnerships, and expanding our JMU Esports program.

🎧 Tune into the Shenandoah Valley Life Podcast to learn more about X-Labs! Connie Frigo, executive director of JMU X-Labs, and Patrice Ludwig, interim assistant vice president for Research & Innovation and founder and associate professor of X-Labs courses, share the origins of X-Labs and the exciting future of our innovative workforce development program and collaborative partnerships. A special thanks to Jay A. Langston, Ph.D. and the Shenandoah Valley Partnership team for providing us with the opportunity to showcase our important work to the broader economic development community. Listen now: https://lnkd.in/dBk7uP2z #jmuxlabs #SVLifePodcast

We opened our doors for the Explore JMU: Academic Open House on Saturday, October 5, where attendees got a first-hand look at what makes the Madison Experience so special - including X-Labs! Our Innovation & Impact Fellows guided tours of our space and helped staff answer questions about our courses and programs. It was great to connect with prospective JMU families from the East Coast and beyond! Go Dukes! 💜💛

#DYK X-Labs is home to JMU Esports? Our program launched in 2021, and the Arena, where the games take place, has recently undergone a complete upgrade with state-of-the-art equipment. So when members of the Shenandoah University Esports team requested to visit our Arena, we enthusiastically replied, "Yes!" It’s inspiring to collaborate with other teams to create programs that foster innovation and empower the next generation of Esports leaders. They even took home a laser-cut version of their logo created at The Lab here at X-Labs! 💻: Learn more about the JMU Esports program here: https://lnkd.in/erjdegex