NEWS
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Claws Up at the Spark Rock Lobsters Social
In January, the Spark Awards joined the ranks of the Crustacean Nation to cheer on our local professional hockey team, the Athens Rock Lobsters, for our Spring Social! Spark Awards provide funding for out-of-classroom learning and open doors for students to pursue new experiences. Since Spring 2024, the NMI has been building opportunities for the Spark community
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John Joins Creative Engagement Wing Fellows
We’re excited to share that John Weatherford has been selected as a Creative Engagement Wing Fellow through UGA’s Center for Teaching and Learning. The fellowship supports faculty in redesigning courses around tech-forward active learning – and it’s a natural fit for NMI’s approach to teaching and making. Through the program, John will be redesigning assignments in Emerging
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Small Talk, Big Insights
Small Talk 101 was a fantastic afternoon dedicated to helping undergraduate and graduate students strengthen one of the most important professional skills of all: the art of conversation. Students had the opportunity to network with an incredible group of alumni and industry guests, gaining real-world experience in introducing themselves, asking thoughtful questions, and navigating meaningful small
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NMI Par-Tee in Jacksonville
Last week, the NMI headed to Jacksonville, FL, to visit the PGA Tour Studios and Headquarters. PGA Tour’s mission is to support and showcase professional golf tournaments – and produce the multimedia content that brings the sport to audiences across the globe. Our students got a behind-the-scenes look at how the PGA Tour uses innovative tools and
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Thank You for an Amazing Birthday
We ended the semester with our Fall 2025 Silver Jubilee NMIXpo, celebrating 25 years of chasing big ideas, pushing limits, and making things work! It was a day of celebrating digital innovations with Emerging Media Capstone students debuting their project Betas at miniMerge, followed by New Media Capstone students showcasing their team projects at SLAM. We
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Demo Day 2025: Success!
Just before the Thanksgiving break, the NMI hosted our inaugural Demo Day, a drop-in event welcoming the entire UGA community to see what the NMI is all about. Current NMC students, tech-curious friends, and even campus advisers joined us for tech demonstrations and presentations from our Fall 2025 Capstone teams who had the opportunity to
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Destination Dawgs Design with the NMI
Last month, the NMI got the chance to design with Destination Dawgs students as part of their Grady Day. After hanging out with our friends at Grady Newsource and the Center for Advanced Computer-Human Ecosystems (CACHE), the students gathered in the NMI Lab for a dive into graphic design. Using Adobe Express, the students “remixed” a template
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Portfolio Workshop Hours
This semester, the NMI offered a new three-part Portfolio Workshop Series led by our very own Kyla Sterling! The series was designed to support students as they developed thoughtful, polished digital portfolios. Every session centered on a key stage of the portfolio-building process: ideation, personal branding, and featured projects. The students recieved dedicated time to reflect, experiment,
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Lessons on AI, Powered by the NMI
This month, Chris Gerlach and Claire Jordan took the NMI’s “make it work better” mantra beyond the institute with two AI-powered presentations. First up, Chris led a workshop for UGA’s Business Engagement, Foundation Relations, and Career Center teams, where he walked through practical ways ChatGPT and other AI tools can streamline comms crafting, boost productivity, and unlock creative problem-solving across campus. Then, Chris joined forces
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Assistant Director Official
Last month, we celebrated Megan Ward being officially named the Director of the New Media Institute. And the good news continues! This month, we are excited to announce that Chris Gerlach has officially been named the Assistant Director of the New Media Institute! Chris is vital to keeping the New Media Institute running while also bringing curiosity and fun energy to
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TEDxUGA 2026: Dark Mode Presenter Lineup
TEDxUGA 2026 will spotlight six outstanding presenters from among UGA faculty, staff, students, and alumni, plus one inspiring member of the Athens community, each ready to share their bright ideas. Alumni Faculty + Staff Students Community Master of Ceremonies Sometimes the brightest ideas emerge from contrast. This year, we invite you to explore what lies beyond
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TEDxUGA at GSPA
The TEDxUGA team presented at this year’s Georgia Scholastic Press Association (GSPA) Fall Conference. The annual conference brings together middle and high school students representing broadcast programs, literary magazines, newspapers, news websites, and yearbooks for a day of learning and collaboration. In their session, TEDxUGA Licensee Megan Ward and Curator Isa Martinez shared how to craft compelling presentations, emphasizing the importance
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Adobe Left the NMI Starstruck
Last month, ten NMIers traveled to the Adobe Max Conference in Los Angeles to join 10,000+ attendees for cutting edge workshops, jaw-dropping keynotes, and close-up connections with creative professionals. The Adobe Max Conference is an annual convergence of the people who teach, make, and use Adobe Creative Cloud (Photoshop, Premiere Pro, Illustrator, and more). Can you be
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Drinking in the Experience at Coca-Cola HQ
The NMI was fizzing with excitement following our second in-state site visit of the Fall semester. Our day at The Coca-Cola Company started with a tour of the headquarters, which featured art displays and artifacts from Coca-Cola’s rich history – including a display of flags from every country where Coca-Cola products are sold. After the tour, we
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Boss Lady Official
Big news! Megan Ward has officially been named the Director of the New Media Institute! For years, Megan has been the engine that keeps the NMI running – teaching, mentoring, organizing, leading, and somehow managing 1,000 things at once with a smile and a spreadsheet. From Graduate Assistant to Program Coordinator to Administrative Director, she’s done it all.