Adobe Creative Campus Innovator: Transforming lives at Bath Spa University

Bath Spa University (BSU) in Bath, England is on a mission to help students change their lives - and, as a result, change the world. For more than 170 years, the university has cultivated creative minds studying everything from dance and graphic design to business and biology.

The university became one of the first Adobe Creative Campuses in the UK, providing students and staff with access to all Adobe Creative Cloud apps. BSU emphasizes the importance of digital fluency, appointing Adobe Creative Advocates who work to embed creative apps into administrative departments and classrooms.

It is because of this dedication that BSU was recently recognized as an inaugural Adobe Creative Campus Innovator, a recognition for universities that set new standards for engaging with Adobe apps on campus.

"With the support of Adobe, we're raising our profile as a professionally creative university for the future," said Rachael Johnson-Duval, CIO at BSU.

Johnson-Duval attributes the university's success as an Adobe Creative Campus to collaboration. The university works with Adobe to understand best practices, asks for feedback from students and faculty, and talks with colleagues in other universities to share and discover creative opportunities.

"We embrace openness as it aligns with our value of supporting our community, but it has also led to some of our biggest successes," Johnson-Duval said.

One way that BSU has promoted engagement is through its Adobe Creative Advocates, who work closely with faculty to bring Adobe apps into the classroom. So far, their work has reached students across diverse subject areas ranging from Forensic Science to Drama.

BSU plans to enhance this outreach with Authentic Assessment Advocates in each of the eight academic schools. They will support authentic assessment strategies that ask students to apply classroom learning to real-world situations. Rather than writing a paper on healthcare access, a social policy student might create a presentation outlining steps that real-world organizations could take to address challenges.

With access to industry-standard Adobe Creative Cloud apps, students can create professional content such as presentations with Adobe Express, infographics with Adobe Illustrator, or podcasts with Adobe Audition that are ready for clients.

Engaging students and staff beyond the curriculum

BSU embraces Adobe Creative Cloud apps beyond the classroom. Students use Adobe Express to create a "living CV" that highlights their achievements and helps them stand out when applying for internships or jobs. Competitions challenge students to design campus murals with Adobe apps. The Adobe Digital Lab provides students with a place to collaborate on academic or personal projects.

An upcoming initiative will help build creative skills and community ties by hiring students to provide free design work and Adobe Express training to charitable organizations. This project will give students real-world experience and connections that can help launch careers, while also helping charities reach wider audiences.

"Being an Adobe Creative Campus is part of our DNA, and we see the benefits of it daily," Johnson-Duval said. "Adobe helps us achieve our goals of cultivating a culture of creativity and innovation at BSU."

Evaluating impact for continuous improvement

BSU wants to continue its role as a creative leader. The next step will involve an in-depth evaluation of past and current Adobe Creative Campus programs to quantify the impact that they've had on student experience and success.

"We're proud of being named an Adobe Creative Campus Innovator, as it recognizes the hard work and collaboration of all of our staff," Johnson-Duval said. "We hope it will give us opportunities to share our best practices with universities and change the lives of students around the world."

Interested in integrating Adobe tools on your campus? See the full list of Adobe Creative Campus Innovators and find out more about becoming an Adobe Creative Campus.