The Egotist Interviews: Boulder Digital Works

By / July 27, 2009 /

When the University of Colorado announced Boulder Digital Works, its new cutting edge school for digital talent, a lot of heads turned toward Boulder and a lot of questions arose. Here are the answers. If you’re not convinced this program will be the best money you ever spend on your career, read this interview twice.

TDE: Why was this new school created? Is it, at least in part, envisioned as a breeding ground for Crispin Porter + Bogusky—which is also located in Boulder? What other companies might recruit graduates from Boulder Digital Works?

BDW: Globally, there’s a short supply of developed digital talent and senior leadership with demand greatly exceeding supply. In part, we think it has something to do with the current state of digital education. The U.S. has only a handful of dedicated programs, and they tend to focus on individual areas, such as advertising, business, design, or technology. At leading ad and digital agencies, start-ups, and software companies, business, creative, and technology thinkers work together in an integrated setting, share core skills and knowledge, and are expected to be multi-disciplinary problem solvers. What’s really needed is a more broad-based educational program that covers the spectrum of digital disciplines and media. That is essentially why we’re here. Industry response has been extremely positive—which only reinforces that we are right in identifying the need.

Breeding ground? CP+B is in our backyard and MDC is one of our founding partners so they are making an important and welcome contribution to BDW. Our students are coming from all over and will be both exceptionally well prepared and connected when they graduate. We expect they can make up their own minds about where they want to work because they will have a number of attractive choices to make. They will be in an excellent position to choose for themselves where they want to go.

Also, we are project intensive and industry focused—the entire industry—and to that point we’re also working with other leading industry professionals, companies, and educators from around the world, including SoDA (Society of Digital Agencies), Hyper Island, Modernista, IDEO, Goodby, AKQA, Google, EA, Microsoft, Facebook, Amazon, Hulu, R/GA, Twitter, and of course, FL2, The Foundry Group, Spiremedia, Effective UI—all of whom will recruit from BDW. More to come.

TDE: What makes the program different and better than what other schools/master’s programs are already offering? Is this classified as a graduate program?

BDW: At BDW you will have 60 weeks of experience working on real industry projects while at the same time being taught by top digital pros who get to know you, see your work develop, and are in a position to hire you when you finish the program. In short, at BDW you will finish with an outstanding book and the network to get your work in front of the right people. That seems to us to be an exceptional opportunity.

BDW offers a graduate certificate. But what it tangibly offers is real opportunity. We could have created a traditional graduate program but we wanted something that would be agile and remain relevant to the pace of change in industry, especially new technologies. This program is always current with industry because it is taught almost entirely by top industry professionals.

Our courses will change annually rather than every few years. Our faculty list will continue to grow and diversify. We’re announcing the first wave of faculty list this week on our site. We are also announcing our board and a partial list of partners—from industry and from other universities.

Hyper Island is a partner, too, and will be at BDW monthly. And this is just the start of our integration with the top minds in digital. A quick look at one of our partners, SoDA, will tell you the digital agency network that we are drawing from for teaching talent, projects, mentoring… What all of this means to students is that they will be taught by the top talent in industry, be thoroughly networked, and will have an exceptional portfolio when they’re finished.

Also, think of it this way: If you don’t have time for two+ years of graduate school or a master’s program and you passionately want to change the world through digital media and technology, then we are a good fit. What makes us fundamentally different is our learning model in that we expect all of our students to be creative thinkers to learn across digital disciplines and media. For example, if you come in to improve your interactive technology skills you’re also going to be required to learn about creative narrative, design thinking, business strategy, project leadership, and social media strategy. The digital leaders of today and tomorrow require all of these skills, and there really is no broad-based digital education program in the U.S. that offers this type of curriculum. We have a learning partnership and exchange program with Sweden’s Hyper Island, one of the most acclaimed digital schools worldwide. Given this partnership and our affiliation with MDC, SoDA, and Microsoft, we will have some of the best digital instructors in the world making up our network of talent and partners.

TDE: The University of Colorado at Boulder already has a computer science program, as well as a program called ATLAS—“which prepares students for lives and leadership careers in the networked information age.” Why is Boulder Digital Works partnering with the School of Journalism and Mass Communication, as opposed to these other existing programs?

BDW: The undergraduate advertising program, which lives in SJMC, is perennially recognized as one of the top advertising programs in the U.S. It has for eight years now won multiple awards in creative, including several gold, silver, and bronze pencils in the ONE SHOW. For the past two years (in a row) the ad program has won the gold pencil in interactive, even though we are an undergraduate program and compete almost entirely with graduate programs like VCU Brandcenter. We have been asked for several years to develop a graduate program in advertising. That idea seemed a little retro to us, so after about two years of research we came up with Boulder Digital Works, a program that is designed to be agile, fast, and forward looking, that will be project driven and industry focused. The primary players from CU are SJMC and the College of Engineering but we are partnering across campus and across academic institutions.

TDE: Your website states, “The team will be made up of today’s digital leaders and industry giants.” That’s a loose description. Can you give us more details on who’s teaching?

BDW: Check out our list of faculty on the site. This will now be updated weekly because the faculty list is growing daily.

TDE: It’s tough to give up $25k without more detail on what courses will be offered, how the program will be structured over 60 weeks, and how many classes/credits are required to complete the program. Can you clarify some of these issues? Is there a place to find all the information?

BDW: We’re working every day to update our site and details about the program. Keep in mind that we’re trying to do something completely new and unchartered. Watch the website, follow us on Twitter, ask your colleagues that know digital how they learned and what they would want in a program, then send us feedback. Get involved.

TDE: For a person lacking any real career direction, what skills or interests should one possess that would indicate they’re a good fit for your program and vice versa?

BDW: Digital. The way of the world. The mobile phone in your hand, knowing that a monitor is no longer important, understanding that code, ideas, and communications are driving consumer behavior around us, a true commitment to being the best, the one in the room that has the answers, the innovator, the most marketable, the collaborator.

TDE: Do you have to know how to code or design to be considered? Does it make sense to apply as a writer? Does it matter if an applicant has no digital experience?

BDW: If you don’t know it coming in, you’ll know it when you leave. Business people will experiment with code, creatives will embrace database design, technologists will pitch ideas, and everyone will learn how to work a room—what else do you need?

TDE: How competitive will it be to get in? How many students will you accept into the first class, starting October 2009?

BDW: It is competitive. We’re not messing around. We plan to have the leaders in digital teaching— the contact list alone is worth a year of your life. We plan to keep the number of students in 60 Weeks small. We will grow but we will grow slowly and only in a way that matters.

TDE: Billy has been accepted into Miami Ad School, VCU Brandcenter and Boulder Digital Works. Convince him he should attend BDW over a traditional ad finishing school.

BDW: No comparison. If you are looking at these schools, we doubt you will find us. You need to be digitally minded, curious, independent, inventive, and smart. It’s not about current skills, it’s about survival, leadership, experimentation, and risk taking. Other schools bolted on digital when they figured out that consumers and brands will be far ahead of their curriculum. We’re not playing catch up, we plan to be current, lead, and always be centered in digital—from the beginning. We are dedicated to digital; we’re not retrofitting it onto the artifacts of an existing curriculum. We’re the future of digital education. If you want to be part of the digital future, you will work with us.

TDE: As someone working 9 to 5 to keep food on the table, is it possible to get involved in the program—without having to take 60 weeks off work?

BDW: As with any graduate program, you have to leave work for a year. We know it is not easy, but it’s worth it. Check out private loans, new tax benefits for students, and think about working odd hours rather than 9-5. Chances are that you will meet someone in the program that might want to start a business, start something. Again, dedicating a little over one year of your life to change the rest of your life is worth it.

TDE: Will financial aid be available for those low on funds?

BDW: Yes, check out the site, call the school, explore options. For scholarships, look out for those—we’re working on a 50% paid tuition scholarship for the most talented.

TDE: All too often, those who teach have a hard time keeping up with the latest techniques and trends, especially with regards to digital software. What will be done to ensure the professors at Boulder Digital Works remain on the cutting edge of their respective fields?

BDW: The professors are the industry. We’re connected and integrated, this is the whole point of the school. Think about being able to work in 100 different companies, beside the ECD, technical director, or VP of Business Development on a weekly basis. This program provides access, knowledge, exposure and real-life digital challenges—we know it changes weekly and we plan to respond to the dynamic nature of digital. Don’t expect A-B curriculum presented in a nice little package. What is important in 6 months? The industry will tell us and that is what we will teach.

TDE: Can students attend Hyper Island classes in Sweden too?

BDW: Yes, Hyper Island is our partner.

TDE: Will you be teaching the award-winning ad formula of big picture, visual gag, logo in bottom right-hand corner? Or will you be asking students to be inventive in more progressive ways, perhaps addressing a new way to break through in today’s fast-paced, short-attention-span consumer environment?

BDW: We’ve vowed to not say the word “AD” in the building. It’s a rule, we’re sticking with it.

TDE: In addition to learning software and general techniques, will there be any classes designed to train students on how to deal with clients, art directors, creative directors, as well as dealing with inevitable changes in scope, detaching oneself emotionally from work, etc.?

BDW: Yes! Interpersonal relations, sales, psychology, collaboration, group dynamics and a class on “TIME” cause we don’t have enough. It has to be constantly managed, and everyone has a different interpretation of it.

TDE: How will students be transitioned from classroom curriculum, to real world employment in a fast-paced, mentally taxing environment—making sure they’re properly prepared for what lies ahead? Will there be an internship program?

BDW: Real world is the classroom, no transition needed. This school is a FT job. You will work with industry pros for 60 weeks on industry projects. There will also be internships.

TDE: What employment opportunities will be available after graduation? How much money can grads expect to make when they get out into the real world?

BDW: A lot. We can’t keep up with the requests to partner, from some of the leading digital agencies in the world. Watch the site for updates, but Twitter might be better since our site is dated every hour.

Find out more about Boulder Digital Works online and through their Twitter feed.