Shaping Leaders, Sparking Change
Access Furman Innovation Lab’s impactful certificates, graduate programs, and institute-led initiatives in one place, where leadership meets creativity and ideas generate impact. Whether you’re ready to advance your career, initiate change in your organization, or drive progress in our community, you’ll find offerings and services embodying liberal arts in action.
The Furman Innovation Lab prepares individuals and organizations to meet the challenges of a rapidly changing world. For 200 years, Furman has empowered learners through evidence-based research and community-centered learning. Today, that tradition continues beyond undergrad programs through a dynamic mix of courses and certificates offered by Furman’s institutes, graduate programs, and Center for Innovative Leadership.
Whether you’re an individual ready to sharpen your professional skills or dive into a new passion, or an employer looking to strengthen your team and drive measurable results, our offerings can deliver the tools, knowledge, and confidence to achieve your goals.
Choose your track to discover where our courses, professional certificates, and learning pathways can take you.
From immersive leadership programs to graduate-level degrees and professional certificates, Furman Innovation Lab courses are built to inspire action, fuel ideas, and enhance the skills that set you apart. Here’s a glimpse of what you can find in our full catalog:
Four Core Behaviors for Better Conversations
The four core principles may not be surprising at first glance, but the research has found that most individuals struggle in one or more of these areas alone. BCE is designed to…
Spring 2026 Dates: April 13, 2026
Four Core Behaviors for Better Conversations
The four core principles may not be surprising at first glance, but the research has found that most individuals…
Stepping into a leadership role for the first time can be both exciting and challenging. Many new leaders are promoted because they excel as individual contributors, yet success in leadership requires a different way of thinking, communicating, and working with others.
Boost for New Leaders equips emerging managers with practical tools and guidance grounded in the Center…
Burn Bright: The Resilience Advantage equips leaders with practical tools and insights to better understand how resilience influences energy, performance, and leadership effectiveness. Rather than treating resilience as a response to burnout, this course reframes it as a proactive, everyday practice—one that can be cultivated through intentional routines and small, repeatable…
Through a hands-on, modular curriculum, participants develop the mindset, methods, and muscle to launch new ventures, products, or services inside their organizations. They’ll learn how to move an idea through ideation, validation, and execution while aligning with corporate strategy and gaining stakeholder buy-in.
Participants progress through 5 modules and the program…
The Coursera Career Academy empowers learners to upskill, grow, and innovate through targeted, real-world learning pathways. Rather than a single course with specific goals, the Academy offers a diverse library of programs that learners can choose from based on their interests and career goals. Each pathway provides hands-on projects and applied learning experiences designed to build…
This certificate program unlocks the power of automation by showing how to convert work done in spreadsheets to using scripts that can be easily read, executed, and shared. This change unlocks a “do it once” workflow that frees analysts to focus on improvements, automation, and more in-depth analysis instead of rote tasks. The written instructions of the script are created in an…
Foundations of Leadership empowers new leaders to
This immersive one-day course was created with new and aspiring leaders in mind. Participants will engage in practical exercises to enhance the research-backed…
Foundations of Leadership empowers new leaders to
This immersive one-day course was created with new and aspiring leaders in mind. Participants will engage in practical exercises to enhance the research-backed…
Leadership effectiveness does not start with strategy or authority—it starts with how leaders understand themselves, learn from experience, communicate with others, and influence outcomes. Fundamental 4 is an asynchronous online program grounded in decades of leadership research from the Center for Creative Leadership, designed to help participants strengthen these four essential…
This immersive summit, presented in partnership with Sunland Logistics Solutions, explores how intentional culture design and leadership practices directly influence engagement, innovation and organizational performance. Designed for leaders responsible for shaping how work gets done, this experience examines why culture is critical to workforce success, how leadership behaviors create…
The importance of developing fundamental leadership skills cannot be understated. No matter their intelligence, experience, or drive, leaders at every level need the same 4 core skills to be effective and grow within an organization.
We call them the Fundamental 4:
The importance of developing fundamental leadership skills cannot be understated. No matter their intelligence, experience, or drive, leaders at every level need the same 4 core skills to be effective and grow within an organization.
We call them the Fundamental 4:
With this Product Design (UX/UI) Professional Certificate Bundle you will learn the full UX/UI design process from understanding user behavior to crafting intuitive and effective interfaces, giving you the skills to succeed in this rewarding career. Start with the Professional Certificate in UX Design before enrolling in the Professional Certificate for UI Design. This way you…
Artificial intelligence is no longer a future skill—it is a present professional reality. But organizations need more than AI users. They need professionals who can integrate AI thoughtfully, responsibly, and strategically. In this eight-week course, participants will move from conceptual understanding of AI to real-world solution design; build and test AI-enabled prototypes aligned with…
This course helps community members and emerging leaders move from concern to effective action by providing practical organizing and advocacy skills. Participants learn how to mobilize others, build partnerships and sustain momentum around shared goals. It also demystifies the process of creating and changing policies, providing people with clearer entry points to influence decisions that…
This course is designed for community members, nonprofit staff and emerging leaders who want to secure funding to support social impact initiatives. It is well-suited for individuals responsible for fundraising, grant writing or resource development in nonprofit organizations, community groups or advocacy programs. Additionally, it appeals to students and professionals seeking practical…
Program Highlights:
This course is suited to anybody interested in designing beautiful interfaces for digital products. Our students are:
Whether you want to explore UX as a career or expand your professional skillset, this UX design fundamentals course is the perfect starting point.
Program Overview:
Module 1: Self-Awareness for Leaders
Module 2: Communication for Leaders
The Furman Innovation Lab brings together the best of Furman’s community-facing programs into a single, powerful hub. By uniting the Center for Innovative Leadership, the Furman Institutes, and Graduate Studies, we offer learners and organizations a seamless way to access bold, hands-on opportunities that drive growth, connection, and impact.
At Furman, learning doesn’t stop at graduation—it spills into communities, boardrooms, and real-world challenges. Through hands-on projects, leadership training, and impactful connections, our students and partners are transforming their careers and communities, making waves where it matters most. Here’s what they say:
Working with the Institute for the Advancement of Community Health (IACH) as part of my public-health capstone gave me real-world experience and helped launch a career path I love.
Hannah McKinnon ’20
Riley Institute Summer Experience (RISE) gave me a seat at the table—leadership training, real connections, and the tools to make things happen.
Riley Fellow ’24
Covering everything from data collection to real-world solutions, the Sustainability Leadership Initiative (SLI) helped me translate classroom theory into real change.
Anna DeMino ’26
Read MoreWorking with the Institute for the Advancement of Community Health (IACH) as part of my public-health capstone gave me real-world experience and helped launch a career path I love.
Hannah McKinnon ’20
Read MoreRiley Institute Summer Experience (RISE) gave me a seat at the table – leadership training, real connections, and the tools to make things happen.
Riley Fellow ’24
Read MoreCovering everything from data collection to real-world solutions, the Sustainability Leadership Initiative (SLI) helped me translate classroom theory into real change.
Anna DeMino ’26
Behind every Furman Innovation Lab experience are experts who bring research, real-world insight, and bold ideas to the table. They ignite curiosity, guide discovery, and help learners and organizations turn potential into lasting impact.
A mission-driven innovator, Garrett Stern leads Furman’s Center for Innovative Leadership with a passion for connecting universities and communities to solve real-world challenges.
With more than a decade of experience in higher education, he designs programs that strengthen leadership and build workforce resilience. A national speaker on the future of education and work, Garrett helps organizations navigate transformation with human-centered solutions.
Prior to coming to Furman, Bryan Boroughs served as chief operating officer and general counsel at the Institute for Child Success. He previously served as an investigative counsel for the United States Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, and for several youth-serving organizations, including Young Invincibles, Mountainview Whisman Elementary School District, the Girl Scouts of Santa Clara County, and Mental Health America of Greenville County.
Over the past 15 years, Bryan Davis has a track record of successfully launching and growing high-impact initiatives ranging from health-tech startups to universities and multi-billion-dollar healthcare centers.
Bryan has been responsible for the launch and growth of numerous initiatives within the institute, executed new external partnerships, and secured new funding. He founded a startup program nominated nationally for “Excellence in New Venture Creation” (GVL Starts) and helped lead South Carolina’s first-ever statewide student pitch competition (SC Innovates).
Andrew Predmore brings extensive expertise in sustainability to Furman, having worked in both private industry and higher education. He most recently served as sustainability manager for Milliken & Company, where his work focused on reporting environmental, social, and governance metrics, integrating life cycle assessment methodologies into Milliken’s business, and developing greenhouse gas reduction and climate mitigation strategy.
As a primary care physician with a 20+ year career in academic medicine, Kerry Sease brings a unique awareness to community health needs and solutions. Kerry has held multiple roles in the healthcare setting, including co-establishing the Bradshaw Institute for Community Child Health & Advocacy, leading the Pediatrics Residency Program, developing clinical programs to address gaps in care, and leading the Pediatric Community Health Needs Assessment for Prisma Health.
Zachary White has published research addressing topics such as authentic leadership, managing uncertainty, communicating stigmatized role experiences, digital equity, and caregiver communication.
He teaches courses in communication theory, innovation and creativity, and narrative communication.
Dr. White recently served on the North Carolina Institute of Medicine’s Task Force on Healthy Aging.
A mission-driven innovator, Garrett Stern leads Furman’s Center for Innovative Leadership with a passion for connecting universities and communities to solve real-world challenges.
With more than a decade of experience in higher education, he designs programs that strengthen leadership and build workforce resilience. A national speaker on the future of education and work, Garrett helps organizations navigate transformation with human-centered solutions.
Prior to coming to Furman, Bryan Boroughs served as chief operating officer and general counsel at the Institute for Child Success. He previously served as an investigative counsel for the United States Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, and for several youth-serving organizations, including Young Invincibles, Mountainview Whisman Elementary School District, the Girl Scouts of Santa Clara County, and Mental Health America of Greenville County.
Over the past 15 years, Bryan Davis has a track record of successfully launching and growing high-impact initiatives ranging from health-tech startups to universities and multi-billion-dollar healthcare centers.
Bryan has been responsible for the launch and growth of numerous initiatives within the institute, executed new external partnerships, and secured new funding. He founded a startup program nominated nationally for “Excellence in New Venture Creation” (GVL Starts) and helped lead South Carolina’s first-ever statewide student pitch competition (SC Innovates).
