Fusion Studio for Entertainment and Engineering | Symposium on Education in Entertainment and Engineering

Building bridges between two exceptionally different academic and professional cultures – The Symposium (SEEE) unites educators and professionals to reimagine how we teach, design, and innovate for the live entertainment industry.

Thank you for a wonderful 2026 Symposium!

Stay tuned for information on the 2027 SEEE

The 2026 Symposium on Education in Entertainment and Engineering was an amazing event at Purdue in July 2026. Photo cred Melodie Yvonne

What people are saying about the SEEE

It’s amazing that entertainment and engineering are some of the oldest concepts in our culture, but we’re just now bringing them together for a focused college education. And at a time when university arts departments are getting smaller and smaller, it’s a privilege that Purdue is providing a space for educators and industry professionals to get together and discuss how a national standard is going to be put in place.

Taylor Gruenloh

Assistant Professor in Theatre & Film, Missouri University of Science and Technology

The Symposium created a rare space where educators, industry practitioners, designers, and operators could have honest conversations about the challenge of teaching both theory and real-world application. As someone who works across consulting, operations, and higher education, I found tremendous value in the exchange of ideas around preparing students not just to understand concepts, but to apply them effectively in the realities of live entertainment and event production.

Bryan Huneycutt

HoneyBadger Entertainment Consulting

There are a lot of amazing options for students interested in the tech production side of entertainment. I think it is helpful for educators to learn what the professionals are looking for and for the professionals to hear the challenges that educators face.

Joseph Champelli

Director of Automation, PRG

2026 agenda

SESSION PAIR 1: TOURING VENUES & ENGINEERING (Friday Afternoon, 7/24/2026)

Panel Discussion – The Load In / Load Out: How Touring and Touring Venues Shape Entertainment and Engineering Education – How touring realities—logistics, venue variability, safety, codes, and failure—should change what and how we teach
Working Session – Teaching Touring Logistics, Standards, and Systems Thinking – A collaborative working session focused on translating touring realities—scheduling, flexibility, safety, and failure—into effective educational experiences and learning outcomes.

SESSION PAIR 2: FACILITY ENGINEERING & VENUE DESIGN (Saturday Morning, 7/25/2026)

Panel Discussion – Designing the Permanent for the Temporary: How Venue Engineering Informs Scenic and Systems Education – The focus of this discussion will be on how the relationship between architecture, engineering, and scenery should influence curricular structure, collaboration models, and student preparation.
Working Session – Designing the Designed Space: Teaching Venue and Scenic Engineering Through Case Studies – Participants develop curricular strategies and case-study frameworks for teaching venue design, scenic systems, and interdisciplinary collaboration within academic programs.

SESSION PAIR 3: LEARNING THROUGH FAILURE (Saturday Afternoon, 7/25/2026)

Panel Discussion – When It Breaks: How Failure, Recovery, and Troubleshooting Should Shape Theatre Engineering Education – Industry and academic voices share stories of breakdowns, troubleshooting, and recovery—revealing how failure drives better engineering, teamwork, and decision-making. This discussion will lead us to rethink how we teach problem solving, decision-making, and resilience.
Working Session – Failing Forward: Embedding Troubleshooting, Iteration, and Resilience into Engineering Education – A hands-on working session focused on designing failure-based learning experiences that build technical judgment, collaboration, and confidence in students.

What is the Symposium?

The live entertainment industry presents increasingly complex challenges for technicians—whether in small community theatres or in large theme parks. At the same time, the shape of post-secondary education is changing—with an increasing emphasis on hands-on learning and outcome-based instructional design becoming the norm. At the convergence of these threads is the need to effectively prepare and educate students to enter the rapidly changing world of live entertainment technology.

Typically held in late July, the Symposium on Education in Entertainment and Engineering highlights advances, challenges, and trends in curricular design, instructional design, academic research, and cross-disciplinary work related to the intersection of engineering and live entertainment. This symposium is specifically aimed at building bridges between two exceptionally different academic and professional cultures and practices; presentations come from many different backgrounds and academic experiences. Symposium topics explore the interstitial spaces amongst the disciplines of engineering, theatre technology, and education.