Credits: 4
Duration: 15 Weeks
Dates:
Duration: 15 Weeks
Dates:
Manus et Machina (CADT-UH 1001)
Core: Arts, Design and Technology (Undergraduate)
4 credits – 15 Weeks
Core: Arts, Design and Technology (Undergraduate)
4 credits – 15 Weeks
In November 2014, Volvo Race’s boat Vestas did not find her way to Abu Dhabi port and got stranded on a reef in the Indian Ocean instead. What went wrong? Is it still possible to get lost today, in the age of ubiquitous and democratized GPS? What does it mean to find one’s way? How do different environments create unique problems, as well as provide solutions? How do we find those solutions ourselves, and how can we intervene in the design of our working and living environments, in the design of our navigational practices, in order to avoid getting lost? What tools do we have? How do they work? What can we learn from navigation before GPS? Informed by new technologies, the demand for sustainability, and the inputs from cognitive studies, “wayfinding” has grown to become a field of research in its own right, related to both architecture and design. It studies the ways in which people orient themselves via the organization of sensory cues from the external environment. The course explores visual design components and theoretical ramifications and will include workshops on campus signage systems, with a focus on accessible design.
Core: Arts, Design and Technology (Undergraduate)
4 credits – 15 Weeks
CADT-UH 1020-000 (20464)
Core: Arts, Design and Technology (Undergraduate)
4 credits – 15 Weeks
What constitutes innovation in medical technology? Is it always necessary? How is its value determined? How would we know if innovation has peaked, or reached a point of diminishing returns? What do global perspectives reveal about medical devices and healthcare in general? In what ways are cultural contexts important to consider? How can the med-tech innovation process address issues of diversity, inclusion, and accessibility? This course takes up the above questions through several case studies and examples, including bioprinting and COVID-19 vaccines — two topics with current relevance — as well as two of the most important historical med-tech innovations that have gone wrong in the past: The Malaria Project and The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks. How can current design and innovation avoid repeating past mistakes? Working in cross-disciplinary teams, students will engage in design projects that will apply what we have learned from this course and address some of the paradoxes present in our ongoing quest to design healthier bodies and societies.
Core: Arts, Design and Technology (Undergraduate)
4 credits – 15 Weeks
CADT-UH 1053-000 (13185)08/25/2025 – 12/10/2025 Mon,Wed9:00 AM – 11:00 AM (Morning)at Abu DhabiInstructed by Sanjairaj, Vijayavenkataraman
Core: Arts, Design and Technology (Undergraduate)
4 credits – 15 Weeks
How has our relationship with building materials shaped human civilization, and in return, how does our use of materials actively reshape the planet we live on? Materials have played a major role throughout human history, from providing basic clothing and shelter in prehistoric times, to fueling the industrial revolution, and enabling today’s global consumer culture. In the process, material use and discovery have given rise to many branches of science and commerce, resulting in even greater demand for more material. The consequences on society and the environment haven’t always been positive. This course explores our relationship with material as engineers, scientists, consumers, and traders. Basic laboratory sessions on material characterization will explore material processing techniques ranging from simple resin casting to advanced 3D printing.
Core: Arts, Design and Technology (Undergraduate)
4 credits – 2 Weeks
How does “silence” help to define our sense of being and existence? Across different cultures, various philosophies of art, science, and society have viewed and thought about silence differently. This course invites students to think about and experience silence by asking three fundamental questions: 1) What does it mean to be silent? (Literally and metaphorically); 2) Does silence shape our lives? And if so, how? 3) Can we have an active relationship and recognition with silence just as we do with sound or action? Drawing on multi-disciplinary sources from around the world to explore the philosophical frameworks and thought systems that have engaged in the study and observation of silence, the syllabus will include works of art, literature, theater, films, architecture, and music, which students will engage via a mix of seminar, lecture, and studio methods of teaching, to enable the creations of their own artistic responses to their experience of silence and the material presented in class.
Core: Arts, Design and Technology (Undergraduate)
4 credits – 15 Weeks
CADT-UH 1052-000 (19965)08/26/2024 – 12/10/2024 Tue,Thu12:00 AM – 2:00 PM (Early afternoon)at Abu DhabiInstructed by Özhabeş, Özlem
Core: Arts, Design and Technology (Undergraduate)
4 credits – 15 Weeks
Design seems to be omnipresent, but what is it? This course (whose title is Latin for usage, beauty, and stability) explores how design influences our life and investigates the fundamentals of “good design.” It takes a look at the status quo of the use of design in media, objects, and architecture, and observe its influence on art and technology from past to present. Design tools and processes will be highlighted. Based on the fusion of readings, study, discussion, and experiences, over the course of the semester students will develop an understanding of how mutually reinforcing and beneficiary a mix of Arts, Design, and Technology can be. Lecture and discussion will help develop the design of a bricolage: Every student will realize a product prototype to be displayed in an exhibition and a personal philosophy of about Arts, Design, and Technology.
Core: Arts, Design and Technology (Undergraduate)
4 credits – 15 Weeks
CADT-UH 1016-000 (17217)08/29/2023 – 12/15/2023 Tue2:00 PM – 3:00 PM (Early afternoon)at Abu DhabiInstructed by Alawadi, Khulood
CADT-UH 1016-000 (17243)08/29/2023 – 12/15/2023 Thu2:00 PM – 4:00 PM (Early afternoon)at Abu DhabiInstructed by Alawadi, Khulood
Core: Arts, Design and Technology (Undergraduate)
4 credits – 15 Weeks
Core: Arts, Design and Technology (Undergraduate)
4 credits – 15 Weeks
For students joining IMA in Fall 2022 and beyond, our new program structure affects the categorization of courses on this site.
Classes listed in the “IMA Major Electives” categories refer to the old IMA program structure. If you’re under the new IMA program structure, these courses count as general IMA Electives for you. Your program structure is noted on your academic advising spreadsheet.
Students on the new program structure can search the Interchange for courses. If you’re looking for “IMA Major Distribution” courses, you'll find them listed here: