Putting the “Center” Back in ETC

Twenty-five students from Carnegie Mellon University’s Tepper School of Business walked into the Entertainment Technology Center (ETC) for a full-day immersive simulation. By the afternoon, they were writing scripts, assembling costumes and props, learning production roles and preparing to perform original “Late Night”-style segments in front of a live audience.

This wasn’t a television production workshop.

The exercise was part of Tepper’s Zenith program and Agility Lab, designed to put second-year MBA students in unfamiliar situations where they must work across disciplines, make decisions under pressure and adapt when plans change.

The ETC proved particularly well suited to creating those conditions.

Divided into two teams, students took on roles as writers, actors and producers, moving through the ETC’s production spaces as ideas became scripts and scripts became performances. An on-site leadership coach helped students navigate challenging team dynamics. By the end of the day, both teams had recorded original segments and gathered to reflect on what they had learned.

And, appropriately for an exercise about agility, not everything went according to plan.

The organizers had prepared graphic elements and video clips for students to incorporate using the ETC’s green screen. But the students had other ideas — and they were allowed to pursue them. That willingness to create structure while leaving room for experimentation is part of what drew the Tepper team to the ETC.

“The ETC had a clear advantage over the other studio spaces I considered — not only because of the incredible resources all under one roof, but because of their amazing staff and the range of expertise there,” said Michelle Stoner, senior academic program manager with Tepper’s Accelerate Leadership Center. “From our first conversation, John approached the idea with creativity, openness and a real spirit of collaboration that helped us think about what the day could become.”

John Balash, an ETC alumnus and director of academic outreach, extension and engagement, had been building relationships with Tepper colleagues through a series of smaller interactions over the previous year. Those interactions eventually created an opportunity to try something more ambitious.

For Balash, the day represented something larger than a single successful event.

“As a systems person, I see these as moments that offer both a chance to provide a remarkable, one-off experience that advances the ETC's mission and an opportunity for larger and longer engagements and partnerships,” he said.

Over nearly a decade, Balash and his team, including Outreach and Engagement Network Coordinator Anthony Palyszeski, have helped create offerings ranging from mixed reality and Rube Goldberg machines with the School of Design to Love Data Week with University Libraries, Pittsburgh Robotics Network Discovery Days, live-action role-playing activities and LEGO Serious Play workshops for executive and professional development.

The activities vary widely, but Balash sees a common purpose behind them.

“The ETC is the tip of the spear for engagement,” he said. “We can provide relevant insights and meaningful programs through an approach that is low barrier, playful and high impact.”

One example came through a professional development program for Carnegie Mellon University Libraries, where Balash facilitated a LEGO Serious Play session. Using a series of structured exercises, participants built LEGO models representing personal or professional challenges, using those creations as a starting point for conversation and problem-solving.

“Starting the day with LEGO Serious Play set the tone for everything that followed,” said Kelly Woessner, organizational development manager for University Libraries. “It broke down some of our traditional work silos and got people talking with colleagues they might not normally interact with. John brought a fresh perspective that was both thoughtful and playful, and the hands-on activity put everyone in a creative mindset. People seemed more willing to be open and share throughout the rest of the day.” The Tepper simulation and the Libraries workshop looked very different. Both, however, illustrate a role Balash envisions for the ETC: using play, technology and experiential design to help collaborators test ideas and work together in new ways.

From an island to a center

Despite all that activity, Balash acknowledges that the ETC has sometimes felt like an “island” within Carnegie Mellon. It is visible across the university but remains a place many in the CMU community have yet to experience firsthand.

He imagines a future in which the ETC is known as an eager collaborator and a place where faculty, staff, students and community partners can explore ideas that may not yet have an obvious home. “We provide a playful lens that sparks curiosity and joy through technology,” Balash said.

That aspiration aligns with ETC Director Derek Ham’s emphasis on “putting the Center back in ETC.”

The master of entertainment technology degree remains at the core of the ETC's identity, but Ham sees a broader role for the Center: extending its creative research and expertise beyond a single academic program and demonstrating their value across Carnegie Mellon and in the wider community.

“Higher education in the U.S. is at a critical turning point,” Ham said. “Public trust is declining, largely because people are questioning the real-world impact of a college degree. To rebuild that trust, university centers like the ETC must bridge the gap. By taking our creative research directly into the community and inviting the public into our halls, we can demonstrate our value where it matters most.”

What is already happening suggests the possibilities.

MBA students can step outside familiar roles to become writers, actors and producers for a day. Library coworkers can use play to move beyond familiar teams and ways of thinking. A conversation between colleagues can lead to a series of small experiments — and eventually to an immersive learning experience.

For Balash, the opportunity lies not simply in bringing more people into the ETC building, but in giving them meaningful ways to contribute to what happens there.