News & Events
November 17, 2026
Dawn Danby & David McConville // Planetary Repair, Shared Futures
The Jacobs Institute for Design Innovation welcomes Dawn Danby and David McConville, co-founders of Spherical, an integrative research and design studio working to regenerate the health and integrity of Earth’s living systems. Through desig…
November 10, 2026
Andrew Hogan // The New Rules of Design
The Jacobs Institute for Design Innovation welcomes Andrew Hogan, Head of Insights at Figma. Drawing on years of research at Figma and his time as an analyst at Forrester, Andrew studies how design is changing in an era where AI, new tools,…
November 3, 2026
Stefanie Hutka // What Your Machines Should Do: The Science and Strategy of Human-Centered Automation
The Jacobs Institute for Design Innovation welcomes Stefanie Hutka, design leader and author of What Your Machines Should Do: The Science and Strategy of Human-Centered Automation. Stefanie has spent her career asking a question that s…
October 27, 2026
Catie Cuan // Physical AI: Giving AI a Robot Body
The Jacobs Institute for Design Innovation welcomes Dr. Catie Cuan, entrepreneur, engineer, artist, and pioneer in the emerging field of choreorobotics. Working at the intersection of artificial intelligence, robotics, and human-robot inter…
October 20, 2026
Matthew Carlson // Future Farming: Designing Start-ups in a Big Company
The Jacobs Institute for Design Innovation welcomes Matthew Carlson, Director of Product Design for Aqua at Adobe, an internal start-up focused on creativity tools for kids. With a career spanning Adobe, Twitter, and Meta, Matthew specializ…
October 13, 2026
Shoshana Berger // Good Life Design is as Little Life Design as Possible
The Jacobs Institute for Design Innovation welcomes Shoshana Berger, writer, strategist, and cofounder of the Aged Intelligence Society. With a career spanning journalism, design, and storytelling, Shoshana has shaped how organizations comm…
September 22, 2026
Kelsey Brennan // Found Problems and Made Problems: What Comes First?
The Jacobs Institute for Design Innovation welcomes Kelsey Brennan, Head of Product Design and User Research at ThredUp, where she leads the teams shaping how people buy and sell secondhand in one of the world’s largest online resale platfo…
September 15, 2026
Josette Melchor // Newtemporary: Designing in the Space Between New and Next
The Jacobs Institute for Design Innovation welcomes Josette Melchor, founder and cultural strategist working across art, technology, cities, and responsible AI. As the founder of Gray Area and now Newtemporary — and a board member of the Bu…
September 15, 2026
Jacobs Makerspace Open House + Yee Commons Grand Opening
Curious about making at Berkeley? Join us for the Jacobs Hall Makerspace Open House — plus the Grand Opening of Yee Commons! Explore UC Berkeley’s 8,000 sq. ft. design and prototyping hub, meet the staff and community, and see the tools…
September 8, 2026
Tania Ketenjian & Philip Wood // Sound Made Public: The Art of Listening
Join the Jacobs Institute for Design Innovation on Tuesday, September 8th for a talk with Tania Ketenjian and Philip Wood, co-founders of SOUND MADE PUBLIC, a San Francisco and New York -based studio that creates audio experiences, sound in…
August 26, 2026
New Year, New Backpack: Jacobs’ Back-to-School Events Are Here
We look forward to welcoming both new and returning members of the campus design community to Jacobs Hall for the start of the Fall 2026 semester. You are cordially invited to join us at the back to school events below. All events below are held in-person! DE...
August 3, 2026
Introducing the 2026 Berkeley Engineering Design Scholars
One of the highlights of summer at the Jacobs Institute is hosting the Berkeley Engineering Design Scholars.This year, seven outstanding undergraduates are engaging in engineering design research and learning research methodologies, under the guidance of facul...
June 22, 2026
Job Opening: Berkeley MDes Director of Academic Affairs
The Jacobs Institute for Design Innovation and the UC Berkeley College of Environmental Design are hiring for a Director of Academic Affairs of the Berkeley Master of Design (Berkeley MDes). This leadership role sits at the center of the MDes student exper...
April 17, 2026
Meet Jacobs’ Spring 2026 Innovation Catalysts
Announcing the Spring 2026 Innovation Catalyst grant recipients! We are proud to introduce our Spring 2026 Innovation Catalyst grantees! Chosen for their creative intelligence and visionary potential, these students are currently leveraging specialized sponsor...
October 9, 2025
Learn How to Earn the UC Berkeley Certificate in Design Innovation
Did you know you can gain an undergraduate certificate in Design Innovation at Berkeley? Join an upcoming info session to learn more about the The Berkeley Certificate in Design Innovation (BCDI) and have your questions about fulfilling certificate require...
September 2, 2025
Back to School @Jacobs // Fall 2025 Happenings
Welcome back to another exciting school year! Please explore and enjoy this round-up of opportunities to engage with design at Jacobs Hall. MAKERPASS REGISTRATION IS OPEN—AND SO IS THE MAKERSPACE! REGISTER The Maker Pass is your point of entry to hands-on...
July 31, 2025
Meet the 2025 Berkeley Engineering Design Scholars
One of the highlights of summer at the Jacobs Institute is hosting the Berkeley Engineering Design Scholars. This year, seven outstanding undergraduates are engaging in engineering design research and learning research methodologies, under the guidance of facu...
April 2, 2025
Announcing the Jacobs’ Spring 2025 Innovation Catalyst Grant Recipients
Congratulations to the newest cohort of Jacobs Institute Innovators! This semester’s cohort of the Jacobs Institute Innovation Catalyst Program was selected from a competitive pool of applicants for their creative intelligence and innovative potential, and a...
March 31, 2025
Show your stuff! Call for Independent, Club & Research Projects for the Jacobs Spring Design Showcase
The Spring 2025 Jacobs Design Showcase will be held on Wednesday and Thursday, May 7 & 8 with the graduate design program showing on Friday May 9th. Per tradition, along with sessions for DES INV courses and student work, the first two days of Showcase wil...
January 17, 2025
Apply for up to $2000 grants for your independent projects!
Apply now for the Jacobs Institute’s Innovation Catalyst Spring 2025 Program! The Jacobs Institute Innovation Catalysts is a semesterly grant program that helps Berkeley’s student innovators unlock potential in their projects. Students rece...
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