Generative AI Studio

Generative AI is changing what we can make and how it gets made. Code can now be written with prose. Agents are transforming how work gets done. Images, music, and video can be generated, revised, and personalized in ways that were previously unfathomable. At GAIL, we believe this moment calls for a new kind of pedagogy to develop the enduring skills that are essential in this constantly evolving landscape.

The Studio is a year-long, in-person program for for full-time, matriculated Penn graduate and professional students to develop unique projects at the cutting edge of generative AI. Informed by time-tested practices of design education, the Generative AI Studio teaches each student to advance their individual vision, while developing:

a productive creative process for developing original generative AI experiences, from first idea through working prototype.
a working understanding of current AI tools and how to use them effectively for a given purpose.
a shared vocabulary for evaluating ideas, interfaces, aesthetics, interaction, and user experience, so that you can assess your own work and give useful feedback on the work of others.
a clearer grasp of the technical and ethical realities behind compelling prototypes, including security, infrastructure, data, and the responsible use of AI-generated images, music, video, and text.

Projects vary widely, but most address at least one of four areas where generative AI holds particular promise:

A robotic hand and a human hand reach towards each other with a bright spark in between, symbolizing the connection between technology and humanity.

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Beyond the Chat Box

Designing AI experiences that use voice, vision, robotics, XR, dynamic interfaces, comics, and other forms of interaction

tactic

AI-Generated Advice

Creating systems that offer responsible, nuanced, and useful guidance in education, business, and everyday decision making

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Designing for Awe

Using Generative AI to create experiences that are meaningful, beautiful, surprising, and emotionally resonant

experiment

Advancing Science

Exploring how AI can support research, hypothesis generation, experimentation, and discovery

How the Studio Works

The Studio meets from 12:30 – 3:30 pm on Fridays and is augmented by one day-long charrette each semester, where the full cohort focuses together on a shared project goal.

Weekly sessions include the exploration of core concepts, technical demonstrations, experimentation, individual project work, collaborative problem solving, and group critiques.

Because every student is working on a different project, and Generative AI can change overnight, students also receive regular 1:1 mentorship and just-in-time instruction from Studio leads, along with input from guest speakers that include product designers, entrepreneurs, technical experts, and thought leaders working at the frontier of the field.

The Studio may be approached as an extracurricular experience or taken for 0.5 credits through SEAS.

A small group of people engaged in a meeting around a table with laptops and notebooks.

Student Projects

Voice-Led Generative AI for Real-Time XR 3D Design

Ananya Chandra, MBA ‘27

This project builds a voice-led generative AI SDK that understands real-world environments and enables real-time creation and modification of 3D objects within physical spaces. It demonstrates applications across interior design, meditation, and game world generation, reimagining how humans interact with and shape digital-physical environments.

GitHub

A webpage displaying an itinerary for "Fourth of July Week" at a lake house. It mentions enjoying mornings on the dock, afternoons on the water, and nights by the fire. There are mentions of people and places involved.

A web page with sections titled "You Forgot This," "The Smoker," "Someone on Your Schedule," and "The Dog that kept coming back." Each section includes a brief text or narrative.

Text on a webpage with sections titled "What Happened," "What It Might Mean," and "What You Can Take." The passage discusses a need for disengagement due to external pressures and a change in personal habits leading to better well-being.

Moments

Michael Huber, MBA ‘27

Moments takes its name from a photo book Michael’s grandfather made for his family before passing — not the best photos, but the “moments” across his life. Moments applies that idea to digital data: photos, music, health metrics, location logs, and social patterns from a period in someone’s life, pulled into an immersive, AI-generated memory capsule. It’s designed for any stretch worth revisiting in full, surfacing the forgotten details that actually transport you back and help you think differently about your future.

StoryLens

Hetvee Marviya, MBA ‘27

What if your curiosity could be fulfilled in a manner that is also engaging? StoryLens is an AI-based app that turns dense subjects: news, policy, science, into illustrated comic books. The pipeline researches, fact-checks, calibrates complexity by audience, and generates a complete comic with consistent characters and art style. Built for kids 8–18 today, but the architecture works for any reader. The content steering is the product, not the model.

How to Apply

The Studio welcomes applicants who are matriculating in any of Penn’s full-time graduate and professional programs. We are looking for curious, creative students with a Generative AI idea that they want to pursue.

Please note:

Absolutely no coding background is required – we program with prose.
While students may be pursuing projects that they ultimately want to bring to market, the Studio focuses on creative exploration and innovation. To that end, students will work on a variety of short-term projects in addition to the core project/s that they develop throughout the year.

Applications for the 2026-2027 academic year open on August 1 and are due August 17. Decisions will be released August 28, and the first session is September 11 at 12:30 PM.

Check back here to apply!

A group of people standing and smiling in front of a brick wall, gathered in a friendly, casual setting. — The Studio's 2025–26 cohort presents their final projects to Professor Ethan Mollick.

What to Submit

Each application has four components.

A resume

A cover letter

We are eager to learn about you, including why you want to be part of the Studio, how you have been using Generative AI, and what about it challenges or inspires you.

A project proposal — Not to exceed 2 pages

Describe what you want to create, why it matters to you, and who it is for. Share the questions you currently have about it, and note issues that the project is likely to raise or explore. Include any sketches, mockups, or prototypes that help us understand your vision.

Work samples — 1 to 3 samples

Share 1 to 3 generative AI projects, completed or in progress. This may be done via links, screen shots, photographs of physical prototypes, or videos of the project in action. For each, please include the prompt history so we can understand how it was created, a description of what your goal was, how you approached it, what you think was successful, what you are critical of, and what unanswered questions emerged along the way. Please note that we don’t require anyone to have coding experience. We do, however, welcome links to GitHub repositories when they are available and useful.

Colorful sticky notes arranged on a whiteboard with various handwritten notes, representing brainstorming or planning session.

Questions? Contact Us

GenAILab@wharton.upenn.edu