Networking Opportunity Helps Industrial Design Students

by Ryan Bower, Assistant Director of Public Relations – February 18, 2016

A new seminar series will help design students prepare for their careers.

Collaboration is the key to success in the industrial design field. This is why the new seminar series, “Design Thinking at Dinner Time,” from Cedarville University’s Columbus-based industrial and innovative design program, will help students grasp the importance of working together from industry experts.

The seminar series is open to all students from the International Center for Creativity (ICC), which partners with Cedarville’s industrial and innovative design program, as well as students from the Columbus College of Art and Design (CCAD) and Ohio State University.

The first session will take place on Friday, Feb. 19 at 5 p.m. at the ICC headquarters in Powell, Ohio, and will feature a presentation from Greg Ames, director of innovation and new product development at Worthington Industries, one of the nation’s leading metals manufacturing companies.


“It’s going to be a really fun evening, and I’m really looking forward to it,” said Ames. “These students have all the skills and techniques they need to succeed, but helping them understand how to better collaborate and how to work together on repeatable processes is really important.”

Ames is just one of several industry professionals who will speak to students. He’ll be joined by Scott Miller, associate director of corporate design at Procter & Gamble, and Jesús Uresti, head culinary creative for Maid of Awesome, as well as Worthington Industries’ Joel Van Gilder, Michael Stephenson and Patrick Walker.

“Our main focus in hosting this event is to really build the design community,” said Jim Stevenson, president of the ICC and supporting instructor of industrial and innovative design. “We want to develop a large network of students who are ready to hit the ground running as professionals in the design field. These seminars will give them access to industry professionals that is just as good, if not better, than what many people already working in the field get.”

Located in southwest Ohio, Cedarville University is an accredited, Christ-centered, Baptist institution with an enrollment of 3,711 undergraduate, graduate and online students in more than 100 areas of study. Founded in 1887, Cedarville is recognized nationally for its authentic Christian community, rigorous academic programs, strong graduation and retention rates, accredited professional and health science offerings and leading student satisfaction ratings. For more information about the University, visit www.cedarville.edu.