The 2018 Silicon Valley Experience
In Stanford’s d.school, “students rearrange the white boards to make the space bigger or smaller and have a wall of supplies that were open for anyone to use. They stressed that open spaces are inviting.” —Carla Calderon
Image by Nicole d'Avis
“At Delphi, when they need to have everyone on the same vision, they use four to seven key words and photos for each word to help bring the idea to life. I will use this not only for visual content when helping artists with branding but I can also use this when I am collaborating with others to make music." —Carla Calderon
Image by Nicole d'Avis
“Stepping foot into the offices of Youtube and Spotify shined a light on how one can merge the worlds of music and technology. I had no idea such opportunities existed at these monstrous technology companies offering sound, audio, and music roles." —Zach Cox
Image by Nicole d'Avis
Students also visited Dolby Laboratories, which specializes in research and innovation in audio technologies. “With more detailed surround sound and super high quality image projection, this technology makes watching a movie in a cinema much more exciting because it really creates an experience that deeply satisfies one visually and audibly.” —Alex Stewart
Image by Nicole d'Avis
“We were all in awe when seeing the Apple Campus. They are the epitome of innovative technology. For example, they had an option for us to virtually tour the campus by aiming an ipad to the outlined shape of the campus.” —Serin Oh
Image by Nicole d'Avis
“When we visited Apple Music, the panelists were Berklee alumni who studied a wide range of majors. Being a music business major, I was very much encouraged when Jackson, a Berklee music business alumnus, spoke about his internship that eventually led to his full-time position and traveling all over the world with Apple Music.” —Serin Oh
Image by Nicole d'Avis
“What surprised me about PlayStation is how they set up the music so it can be incorporated into the video game. Having the intro, loop, and then the outro to each part of the game is something I never thought about.” —Carla Calderon
Image by Nicole d'Avis
“At Oculus, we had the pleasure of experiencing VR games. In one carnival-themed game, amd it was mind blowing to feel like I was actually there playing carnival games.” —Serin Oh
Image by Nicole d'Avis
“The panelists at Spotify were boldly honest when answering our questions. We touched on topics regarding Spotify but also about the gentrification in San Francisco and being a female in the tech industry.” —Serin Oh
Image by Nicole d'Avis
Over the winter break, Berklee’s Institute for Creative Entrepreneurship (BerkleeICE) brought 22 students to Silicon Valley to get an inside look at how music and technology work together. Through this trip, Panos A. Panay, vice president, innovation and strategy, and Nicole d’Avis, director of operations and programming, led students to close the gap between education and career pathways, especially for those who want to pursue entrepreneurship in the creative industries. In addition to the students and the BerkleeICE team, Dustin Gee, manager of employer development and engagement; Michael Bierylo, chair of Electronic Production and Design, Stephen Webber, executive director of BerkleeNYC and dean of strategic initiatives; and Annette Philip, artistic manager for the Berklee India Exchange, came along to support a Berklee-wide initiative to expand opportunities for Berklee students.
The weeklong trip wasn’t just a tour visiting some of the most famous tech companies in the world; it was an opportunity for Berklee students to see how they can incorporate their education into their future from. From the in-person stories told by the employees representing 15 different innovation labs and tech companies, students could begin to draw the bridge between Berklee and Silicon Valley.
Read more about the students’ Silicon Valley experiences on Berklee Blogs.