As a new academic year begins, Design Innovation is excited to welcome students, faculty, staff, alumni, and community members back to the DI Hub!
This year marks an exciting new chapter as the Design Innovation Initiative becomes part of Kent State University's College of Architecture and Environmental Design (CAED). While our organizational home is changing, our mission remains the same: to empower innovators from every discipline with the spaces, tools, expertise, and collaborative experiences they need to transform ideas into reality.
Innovation Starts Here
Innovation doesn't belong to one major or one profession. The most meaningful solutions emerge when people with different experiences and perspectives come together to solve complex problems. That's why Design Innovation continues to be an open-access resource for the entire Kent State community. Students, faculty, staff, alumni, and community members from every college and discipline are welcome to learn new skills, develop research, launch creative projects, connect with fellow collaborators, or stop by just make something cool.
Design Innovation's role is simple: to help you take the first step.
Whether you're designing a prototype, exploring a new technology, collaborating across disciplines, or simply curious about making something for the first time, Design Innovation invites you to "Start Here!"
Start Your Project Here
Whether you're working on a class assignment, research project, entrepreneurial idea, artistic creation, or personal passion project, our team is here to help.
Getting started is easy:
- Become a Design Innovation member by completing a free orientation.
- Schedule a project consultation to discuss your ideas and determine the best path forward.
- Learn new skills through our "How To" and "Intro To" training workshops.
- Reserve equipment and workspaces across our makerspaces.
- Explore technologies including 3D printing, laser cutting, woodworking, metalworking, textiles, electronics, CNC machining, XR technologies, digital fabrication, and much more.
No experience is necessary—we'll help you learn along the way!
Resources for Faculty and Staff
Design Innovation is also a teaching, research, and collaboration partner for faculty and staff across the university. Whether you're introducing students to design thinking, incorporating prototyping into a course, or developing a research project, we can help bring your ideas to life.
Faculty services include:
- Course workshops and Design Innovation Hub facility tours.
- Custom class experiences focused on innovation and emerging technologies.
- Opportunities to "Bring Your Course to DI" and utilize our collaborative spaces and makerspaces.
- Prototyping services for teaching, research, outreach, and creative scholarship.
- Convenient course fee and index billing options for class projects and fabrication services.
If you're interested in integrating Design Innovation into your teaching or research, we'd love to start the conversation
A Growing Community
We're also excited to welcome one of our newest neighbors to the Design Innovation Hub: the Kent State's Admissions Team and Tour Center.
Their presence brings thousands of prospective students and families through our building each year, giving future Golden Flashes an opportunity to experience Kent State's culture of creativity, collaboration, and innovation from the moment they step on campus. We look forward to developing new partnerships that showcase the incredible work happening throughout the university.
Start Here
Every year, thousands of members of the Kent State community walk through our doors with an idea, a question, or simply a curiosity to learn something new. Some leave with a prototype. Others leave with a new skill, a research partnership, or a completely different way of thinking about problems. No matter where you're starting—or where your idea might lead—Design Innovation is here to help you take that first step.
The Reactor Makerspace will reopen for the fall semester on Tuesday, August 25. Our Fall 2026 hours are:
- Tuesday–Thursday: 10:00 am – 7:00 pm
- Friday: 10:00 am – 5:00 pm
Welcome back, and here's to another year of creativity, collaboration, and innovation!
