Guiding Principles:
- HUMAN-CENTERED DESIGN. We use the human-centered design process to explore and develop habits of work, mind, and heart.
- REAL-WORLD INCLUSION. Authentic, relevant learning experiences that encourage Innovators to apply their knowledge. We will make connections to real-world experiences where students will be able to bring projects to market.
- ENTREPRENEURIAL MINDSET. Anticipating needs and bringing new ideas to market. Innovators develop the skills of an entrepreneurial mindset, including passion and perseverance, bringing ideas to life that will have a positive impact on the world.
Learn by doing
Innovation Studio’s project assignments encourage experimentation and collaboration. Students have an inherent curiosity, intellect, and desire to learn, so NEIA provides them with the space, the tools, the coaching, and the skills to allow them to go as far as their passion and ingenuity will take them.
MIDDLE SCHOOL INNOVATION STUDIO
Innovation Studio 7
Teaches students the essential drivers of design and enables them to apply critical and creative thinking skills to real-world problems.
Innovation Studio 8
Focuses on tackling real-world problems with a social impact.
UPPER SCHOOL INNOVATION STUDIO
Innovation Studio 9
Builds upon students’ previous projects and challenges them to consider community challenges. Students learn effective strategies to solve real-world issues.
Innovation Studio 10
Innovators will work to create real-world projects that directly impact the NEIA environment.
Innovation Studio 11
A year-long passion project where students choose a project and create a multidisciplinary portfolio.
Innovation Studio 12
Students collaborate to create a Capstone Project, a culmination and showcase of all the skills and knowledge they’ve gained at NEIA.
Scope & Sequence
Maker Mindsets I
Maker Mindsets II
Prototyping
Iterative Design
Creative Confidence
Empathy + User Research
2D + 3D Design I
2D + 3D Design II
Engineering Mechanisms
Direct 3D Modeling
Parametric 3D Modeling
2D + 3D Renderings
Interviewing + Insights
Problem Identification
Programming
Industrial Drawing
Mechanical Simulations
Brand Storytelling
Innovation in Context
Systems Analysis
Interdisciplinary Problem-Solving
Designing with Purpose
Ethics + Innovation
HCD in Community
Teamwork + Collaboration
Professional Communication
Team Adaptability
Presentation Skills
Project Management
Team Health
"Innovation studio is an environment where you can bring your ideas to life. With over a hundred machines and processes available to students, nothing is impossible."
NEIA Now
NEIA Partners with Loft Design & Rollerblade — 12th-Graders Visit Providence
The 2023 Sales Gala: Bigger and Better
NEIA Gala
Vicki Grisanti, Director of Marketing & Communications
Vicki is a strategic marketing and communications leader with a proven record of creating compelling campaigns and building community. She’s spent her career advancing student interest and access to science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education.
How does MIT teach innovation? We bring it here to NEIA.
J. THOMAS WOELPER, Head of School
Tom is the founding head of school at NEIA and has a distinguished 31-year career in independent education, most recently as the Head of School of Far Hills Country Day School in New Jersey. Tom’s experience in education includes The Hotchkiss School, The Taft School, and Groton School.