Expanded Education

We connect corporations to the mindsets and practices of artists and designers. Our unique programs taught by talented faculty draw from the principles of studio education to build upon leadership development skills and solve pressing challenges facing the world of business. Engaging learners from a variety of professional backgrounds, ExED offers a creative foundation for your workplace.

Register for Art of Creativity (classes start December 5, 2023)

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RISD ExED enables people from any industry to transform their work with the power of art and design. Our executive education programs develop your people’s capacity to unleash creativity, tackle big business challenges, and build a culture of collaboration.

Business as usual isn’t working anymore, yet many workplaces still stifle creativity and new ideas. At RISD, artists develop creative practices to generate and challenge the ideas that shape our future. Get your people inspired to explore new ideas and experiment with new ways of working that unlock innovation.

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Companies struggle with the interconnected problems that make up their toughest business challenges. At RISD, designers deeply question the world as it is, so they can make what’s next. Bring your people together to see their challenges through new critical lenses and redesign your organization for the future.

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Disconnected teams and unproductive organizational norms rob companies of the learning and growth that comes from true collaboration. RISD’s studio based education is built on a culture of collaboration and critique that pushes the work forward while fostering individual development. Model a new way for your organization where ideas and feedback are shared openly to drive progress.

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Our programs

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The Art of Creativity

This signature program helps leaders reinvigorate their own work as a form of creative practice and engage colleagues more effectively in the creative work that drives innovation and change. In addition to shared learning experiences, participants apply new insights and skills through work on individual, on-the-job assignments. This applied making and doing is supported by peer collaboration and critique. Our team of instructors work with each cohort to celebrate their personal progress and growth.

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The Design Lab

This tailored program is an opportunity for your organization to convene collaborators around a major business challenge and approach it in a new way. Drawing upon critical lenses and techniques from the world of design, participants work in teams to make progress on a strategic challenge. On-the-job making and doing is supported by peer collaboration and critique. We help gauge the real business impact of their work, as well as the program’s impact on team dynamics.

Custom programs

Our experienced team works with a select group of companies to build bespoke programs around interesting problems and opportunities. We draw on the broad and deep expertise of our community and integrate multiple delivery methods to develop learning experiences that create strategic impact. Work with us to create executive education programs that connect art and design approaches to the unique needs of your business.

A RISD approach

All RISD's programs are linked by their focus on connecting curiosity about the world to creative approaches and frameworks for problem-solving. ExED programs challenge your team to deeply question and explore business challenges and existing processes.

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Across our curricula, we value an open-ended, iterative approach to problem-solving. You’ll translate these methodologies of experimentation practiced by artists and designers and apply them to your work. Using tactics like brainstorming and idea generation, you and your team will see that good ideas can come from anywhere and lead to promising outcomes.

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Our studios are inherently collaborative places, where ideas develop through engagement with peers and faculty and work is refined through productive critique and feedback. Similarly, our ExED programs engage your team in a shared learning experience to build a culture of collaboration while driving progress on real work.

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Why RISD?

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RISD in the World

RISD has a strong track record of corporate collaboration. Our hands-on, future-focused approach to learning and making has led to engagements with innovative multinational organizations. ExED builds upon this experience to bring fresh leadership development opportunities to a wide range of new partners.