Savannah College of Art and Design’s groundbreaking SCADpro program empowers students to create market-ready solutions for real-world challenges with global companies.

SAVANNAH, GA / ACCESS Newswire / November 9, 2026 / Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) has long been recognized as a preeminent university for launching industry-leading creative professionals. Its SCADpro program, launched in 2011, is the ultimate manifestation of SCAD’s mission to pump brilliant, career-ready creatives into a hungry economy.

“SCADpro is a collaborative incubator where academic brilliance meets market necessity,” says Jesús Rojas, a SCAD alumnus and current vice president for SCADpro and innovation. “It is often a direct employment pipeline to launch careers into the world’s most influential brands.”

Each year, SCADpro sponsors more than 75 projects. During the 2025-2026 school year, more than 1,900 students participated, directly influencing the university’s 99% postgraduate employment rate.

SCADpro teams are strategically multidisciplinary and comprised of up to 20 students who collaborate in creating impactful brand solutions for various industry leaders. For example, SCADpro curated a team of students representing over a dozen majors including advertising, animation, fashion marketing, dramatic writing, industrial design, and social strategy to produce the David Yurman 2023 holiday campaign, the luxury jewelry brand’s first ever extended reality project.

“It is so meaningful to orchestrate the cross-pollination of the raw, boundary-pushing energy of our students with the grounded expertise of our faculty, who are seasoned veterans,” says Rojas. “Together, they form elite teams that solve high-stakes, real-world challenges for global brands.”

The Experience Economy

Because SCAD offers top-ranked degree programs that support phygital (physical + digital) environments, many SCADpro solutions are part of the “experience economy”-solutions that involve engaging brand interactions that create lasting customer loyalty.

“Creating meaningful brand experiences is one of the most transferable skills in today’s economy,” says Jeanna Packard, SCADpro executive director of business development. “It turns customers into advocates while advancing real business goals.”

SCADpro teams have developed experiential concepts for entertainment, retail, and service brands such as Universal Creative, Delta, Atlanta World Cup Host Committee, BMW, Nike, and Deloitte.

AI as Accelerant

SCAD’s technology-forward curriculum, including 28 STEM majors and a Bachelor of Design in Applied AI, coaches students on using the power of AI with effective judgment. “Students educated to wield AI can push their thinking further and faster than ever, filtering a flood of possibilities down to the solutions that genuinely break new ground,” says Packard.

One of SCADpro’s innovative AI-based collaborations positioned FINRA as the leading authority on responsible AI usage in financial regulation.

Seismic Simulations

When partnered with health care, aerospace, and heavy industry companies, SCADpro teams have developed simulation solutions that help onboard, upskill, and educate employees and customers.

For Mayo Clinic, a SCADpro team assisted in the research and development of an augmented reality basic life support training simulation. For JCB, a global leader in construction equipment, SCADpro developed an immersive virtual reality experience that showcased a new product’s capabilities through interactive, firsthand exploration.

“None of this would be possible without our exceptional SCADpro partner relationship team, which creates a seamless experience for our students, faculty, and corporate partners,” concludes Rojas. “Ultimately, we aren’t just teaching design; we are building the world’s premier talent pipeline.”

Contact information:

scad.edu

SOURCE: Savannah College of Art and Design

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