At FIU, we are committed to providing students with the practical skills necessary to excel in today’s fast-paced industries. For Nancy Chang, a Strategic Thinking Miami Ad School instructor within the Global Strategic Communication-Creative Track program, the central challenge has been to effectively illustrate the power of collaborative strategic processes, where the collective output significantly exceeds individual contributions.
Leveraging her extensive experience as a graphic designer, art director, client services director, and strategist, Nancy understands the nuanced interplay of roles within a successful advertising agency. Each function – from FIU’s rigorous strategic research and social listening to Miami Ad School’s creative ideation, visual design, and copywriting – plays a vital role in a cohesive strategic journey. However, replicating this intricate agency workflow within a single semester presented a formidable challenge.
To address this, the FIU Global Strategic Communication-Creative Track, in partnership with Miami Ad School, launched an innovative collaborative teaching model over the past two Fall semesters. FIU’s strength in research methodologies provided a robust foundation for Miami Ad School’s ideation process, creating a powerful synergy that effectively simulated a real-world agency environment.
This year, the collaboration reached new heights with a partnership with Alpina, a leading South American brand. This real-client engagement provided invaluable, hands-on experience, transforming theoretical knowledge into tangible, impactful projects. The collaboration has been a resounding success. We are immensely proud of our students’ dedication and the exceptional work they delivered. Program Director Grizelle De Los Reyes’s visionary leadership and unwavering support were instrumental in realizing this initiative.
By seamlessly integrating our curriculum with the expertise of Miami Ad School and engaging with real-world clients such as Alpina, FIU has effectively bridged the gap between academia and industry. We have demonstrated that fostering strategic collaboration empowers our students and enables them to master the complexities of the advertising world. Together, we achieved our goal, validating the transformative power of collaborative learning.
Connect with instructor Nancy Chang on LinkedIn.
Connect with Program Director Grizelle De Los Reyes on LinkedIn.
