ANN ARBOR, MI — The University of Michigan recently appointed a new faculty committee to create master’s degree and certificate programs that will be available at the planned Detroit Center for Innovation.

The committee, appointed by UM President Mark Schlissel, consists of 21 faculty members and administrators — 17 regular and four ex-officio members. Members recently began meeting weekly to create interdisciplinary curricula focused on the emerging needs of the Detroit regional economy, the university announced.

Committee Chair James Hilton said they are still in the earliest stages of the process and haven’t identified the specific degrees and certificates that are in play, but that it will be important to have a footprint in downtown Detroit.

“[The center] will provide both a place and a method for companies and the community to continually enhance their skills and understanding of the complex problems businesses and communities face,” said Hilton, who is also the vice provost for academic innovation at UM.

Hilton said the committee working to present recommendations to Schlissel by July 1. He said there are a number of design considerations that will shape the curriculum, including:

Improving the economic health of the Detroit region by developing the advanced skills and habits of mind that the new economy demands.

Create a problem-based curriculum that is shaped in close partnership with industry and communities.

Including a foundational part of the curriculum that is grounded in leadership development, entrepreneurship, data science, ethics, and an understanding of the human consequences of innovation.

In UM’s Semester in Detroit program, students spend an undergraduate semester living in Detroit while interning and learning about life and challenges the city faces. Hilton said this will be beneficial when paired with the program’s curriculum.

“We expect it to enhance research collaborations through its problem-based curriculum and to deepen ties to the community by providing enhanced educational pathways, workshops and community-focused projects and events,” Hilton said of the curriculum.

Hilton added the curriculum will be flexible in three ways:

As the problems change, so must the curriculum.

A modular instruction format that may include project portfolios, competency-based assessment and the acquisition of stackable “micro-credentials.”

Student-centric curriculum with multiple pathways to success.

UM announced plans for the $300 million Detroit Center for Innovation in October 2019 at 1400 S. Antoine St. — the site of what once was expected to become a new Wayne County Jail in downtown Detroit.

The center will provide opportunities for UM students in automotive mobility, artificial intelligence, sustainability, cybersecurity and financial technology, the university announced. The facility will eventually serve up to 1,000 graduate and senior-level undergraduate students.

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