Google Fellowship

Kick-off — Challenge Mapping ✅

June 10, 2026 · COMPLETED · Recording available in the Hub

What happened

Introduced challenge statement to cohort
Participated in Three Lenses of Refinement critique
Received peer feedback via breakout session

Win

AI lowered barriers for design students — faster concept-to-prototype, increased engagement, industry collaborations (Figma, ElevenLabs, Flora, ComfyUI)

Worry

Students may rely on AI output without developing foundational design thinking, critical reasoning, and evaluation skills

Three Lenses Applied to Your Challenge

Lens 1 — Global Scale

Artifact-based assessment is broken at every UX/UI program, design school, and creative institution worldwide — CPA can become the global standard

Lens 2 — Google Accelerator

Stitch generates UI; Nano Banana generates visual assets; Gemini Notebook synthesizes research into content; Gemini analyzes process trails — together they power the full CPA workflow

Lens 3 — Institutional Friction

Faculty senate + accreditation red tape → overcome with Google Fellow credibility and Google-backed pilot framing at FIT

Homework: Two Community Hub Posts Required

Post 1 → "Session 1 Challenges" thread (posted)

Post refined challenge statement with authentic voice
Use the Final Challenge Statement above

Post 2 → "Kick-off Prep" thread (after James Pearce interview)

Identified: James Pearce, Technical Manager, Faculty Research Space & Emerging Tech, IT
Conducted ~28-minute conversation (June 17, 2026)
Post drafted → see Community_Hub_Post2_KickoffPrep.md