The Walt Disney Company is collaborating with students from Arizona State University on a secret project related to Mickey Mouse’s 100th anniversary in 2028.
The mystery project began when 20 select students received an email asking if they were available to participate in a four-day Impact Studio created by the J. Orin Edson Entrepreneurship + Innovation Institute.
At the heart of the institute are real-world collaborations.
“It was like a cryptic, too-good-to-be-true kind of email, like, ‘Hey, are you available during these dates to go to an undisclosed location? Fully paid for? Are you in?’” industrial design major NinaPearl Hamel told ASU News.
“And that’s when they officially announced who the partner was. And as you can imagine, we were all really thrilled because none of us knew that it was Disney.”
Off To Disney
Eventually, the students spent two days at Disney Studios in Burbank and the Disney Creative Campus, where they were given a crash course on the history of Mickey Mouse.
From there, they split into teams and spent the next two days coming up with pitches for Disney executives…