Westmont established the Center for Technology, Creativity and Moral Imagination to prepare students to bring skill and excellence to fields at the intersection of technology and creativity and to bring to bear deeply informed ethical considerations urgently needed in rapidly developing fields impacting society.
To do so, Westmont has established a permanent home for the Center at one of its downtown Santa Barbara facilities and is investing in making AI integral to the program. As a result, students learn to apply the breadth of their liberal arts education as they gain hands-on experience building technology solutions. TCMI features the applied learning program called the Center for Applied Technology Lab (CATLab) and other innovative ventures.
Education and Innovation
Westmont’s Keith Center in downtown Santa Barbara (29 W. Anapamu Street) houses TCMI. This strategic location offers students easy access to businesses, local government, start-up hubs, and more. Renovations to the facility will install state-of-the art classrooms and technology. Designed with collaboration in mind, the Keith Center will provide students with a space that encourages innovation.
Ensuring Impact of Programs
Westmont’s Center for Technology, Creativity and Moral Imagination engages undergraduate students from a range of majors to develop solutions that support the college’s business operations. For example, CATLab hires students to work in the SaaS (Software-as-a-Service) incubator and at area businesses as interns. Westmont is expanding its program to include the educational scope to include AI, adding state-of-the-art hardware and software infrastructure to facilitate hands-on learning and experimentation, preparing them to work in this burgeoning field. CATLab provides students with an opportunity to learn programming, business process redesign, marketing, data analytics and decision science. Combining a liberal arts education with relevant internships and hands-on experience yields exceptional job-readiness. Students supercharge their experience and connections by hosting industry leaders for an annual technology conference in Santa Barbara featuring both Salesforce and artificial intelligence (AI).
Technology and AI Advisory Board
Westmont partners with exceptional industry leaders to partner with the college in guiding the growth and effectiveness of the Center for Technology, Creativity and Moral Imagination. The board includes representatives from across the technology industry. Board members represents cloud computing, mobile development, data science, marketing and AI. The group helps develop goals and best practices that prepare students for success in the industry and offer insights about how AI can as thought partners in how AI can serve society. Additionally, the board provides valuable mentorship and networking.