The KCAD Design Academy provides Grand Rapids Public Schools (GRPS) students with vital opportunities to explore the world of design and the design process firsthand through hands-on learning experiences guided by KCAD faculty members. All Design Academy classes are free to GRPS Students thanks to the generosity of Steelcase and the Grand Rapids Public School Foundation.
Community Engagement
Creativity doesn't happen it a vacuum—it thrives on human connection.
More than a college, KCAD strives to be a conduit through which individuals, organizations, and communities can collaborate across the barriers that divide us and leverage the transformative power of creativity to not just envision a better future, but make it a reality.
Learn more about some of our community engagement initiatives below, and contact us if you have an idea of your own you'd like to discuss.
Wege Prize
Student Design Competition
Organized by KCAD with support from The Wege Foundation, Wege Prize is an annual competition that ignites game-changing solutions for the future by inspiring college/university students around the world to collaborate across institutional, disciplinary, and cultural boundaries to accelerate the transition to a sustainable circular economy.
Wege Prize
High School Collaborative Studio
Building on the successful framework of Wege Prize, the Wege Prize High School | Collaborative Studio is a free two-week program that gives West Michigan high school students the chance to collaboratively learn design thinking and creative problem solving strategies and employ them to envision solutions to real-world challenges faced by people in their own communities.