Imagine RIT
About the Festival
Imagine RIT: Innovation and Creativity Festival is the annual kickoff to Rochester’s rich festival season.
Imagine RIT, which will take place Saturday, May 2, 2009 on the RIT campus, is designed to demonstrate what can be accomplished when, as RIT President Bill Destler likes to say, “the right and left brain collide.”
More than 400 interactive exhibits were on display during the first Imagine RIT Festival.
Visitors witnessed a robot that serves hot dogs, a concrete canoe that floats and dozens of musical and theatrical performances. Children made freeze-dried ice cream, test drove Roomba Robots and took a spin on a Ferris wheel.
“There was definitely an electricity in the air,” says RIT Student Government President Ed Wolf, who was also an exhibitor at the festival. “You could tell that a lot of people just didn’t know about all of these cool things that exist at RIT.”
Helpful Tips for Visitors to Imagine RIT
A comprehensive plan is in place to make Saturday, May 3 fun for festival-goers. Discover some information that may be helpful for those who plan to attend. read more »
President Destler discusses innovation and the Festival
President Destler invites the RIT family, the Rochester community and the world to the inaugural “Imagine RIT: Innovation and Creativity Festival.” The festival is free and will be held from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Saturday, May 3 … Rain or shine!
Imagine RIT - Informational Session
On December 12th, President Destler met with students, faculty, and staff to discuss Imagine RIT: Innovation and Creativity Festival. Watch this video now.
President Destler's initial letter announcing the festival
At RIT, you will discover a university of artists and designers on the one hand, and scientists, engineers, and business leaders on the other – a collision of the right brain and the left brain.
Now we need to show off this extraordinary place to the world. Please accept this invitation to the inaugural Imagine RIT: Innovation and Creativity Festival. Save the date: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Saturday, May 3.
We want to attract 30,000 people to this distinctive festival and expose them to hundreds of examples of student, faculty and staff creativity and innovation. The festival will showcase new ideas for products and services, creative arts and crafts, faculty and student research, and more.
We will showcase prototypes, engineering design projects and products, new companies at our incubator, and unique productions in the National Technical Institute for the Deaf's Panara Theatre. We’ll show off the Baja Team and the formula car. We'll display work from the School for American Crafts. And we will have interactive experiences for visitors of all ages.
This hotbed of innovation and creativity will be free and open to the public. We urge you to bring your families and invite your friends.
RIT has the potential to become a national center for creativity and innovation unlike any other university. Help us on our quest to become the nation's first "Innovation University." We look forward to seeing you – rain or shine – on May 3.
Cordially,
Bill Destler