RIT is now an Adobe Creative Campus, expanding access to digital tools and trainings

RIT prides itself on being an interdisciplinary campus where technology, the arts, and design intersect. To further integrate creativity into campus culture, the university has partnered with Adobe to become an Adobe Creative Campus.

As an Adobe Creative Campus, RIT students, faculty, and staff will have free access to Adobe tools, as well as additional trainings and certifications that can enhance their digital literacy and skillsets. Specifically, the Creative Campus designation comes with the following benefits for all RIT students, faculty, and staff:

• Free access to Adobe Express Premium quick and easy content app on their personal computers.
• Free access to the Adobe Creative Cloud software suite on RIT-owned devices.
  • Students enrolled in the College of Art and Design will also have access to Adobe Creative Cloud on their personal computers, for a cost savings of more than $400 per year per student.
• Free access to Adobe trainings and seminars that provide best practices and inspiration for how to infuse creativity into projects, presentations, and more.

RIT President David Munson anticipates that these free resources will help sustain interdisciplinary collaboration and encourage students to implement more creative elements into their work.

“RIT aims to equip all students with the skills and tools needed to drive creativity and innovation in their chosen fields. The benefits that come with our new designation as an Adobe Creative Campus will further help our students boost their digital skills to become competitive professionals,” said Munson. “We look forward to seeing the creative outcomes as our students embrace these new assets.”

Access to Adobe tools can create new avenues for communication. And with Adobe Express, all students can enhance their visual communications regardless of their skill or experience level. For example, students in STEM disciplines may lean into Adobe Express tools to enhance their data visualization strategies. Humanities students can discover new ways to visually communicate complex ideas. Researchers might even use generative AI tools as part of their brainstorming workflows.

However they are used, the RIT community will benefit from Adobe tools as they strive to produce innovative ideas and solutions for an ever-changing world.

“Digital literacy and fluency are quickly becoming core competencies for employment opportunities on an international scale. One of the most effective ways academic institutions can ensure their students become digitally literate and fluent before they enter the competitive workforce is through early and frequent exposure to creative tools,” said Dr. Todd Taylor, Pedagogical Evangelist, Adobe. “We are delighted that RIT has embraced Adobe Creative Cloud, as students will now have the tools they need to seamlessly unlock their creativity and share their stories in more visually compelling ways. As a result, students of all majors can nurture the fundamental skills that will be critical to success in their future careers.”

Access to these new tools will make it easier for students across campus to create videos, podcasts, webpages, data visualizations, and more to support their course assignments and research projects. Students, faculty, and staff can also utilize the latest generative artificial intelligence features from Adobe Firefly and stay engaged with how AI is transforming the future of education and industry.

In addition to the software access, students can take courses and earn certified badges from Adobe, showing future employers that they have essential skills in communicating visually, establishing a social media presence, and understanding generative AI.

“We are ecstatic that our students across the university will now have access to these creative, industry-leading products. We believe that creativity and impactful communication are aspirations for our students from all disciplines,” said Todd Jokl, dean of RIT’s College of Art and Design. “By getting these Adobe tools into the hands of our students, they will have developmental opportunities to exercise their creative and communication muscles, leading to advantages as they launch their careers.”

For more information on how to access Adobe Express Premium and other Adobe assets available to the RIT community, contact the ITS Service Desk. College of Art and Design students can find more information about downloading Adobe Creative Cloud on their personal devices on the CADTech helpdesk website.