Collaboration requires a lot of communication. We have chosen the Discord platform as the communication hub for the PIMA MFA and all required courses. While imperfect, like any platform, Discord provides a space for organized communication, gathering of resources, and preservation of knowledge that, for the moment, surpasses any other freely available platform.
By transferring all essential MFA communication and information to the Discord server, PIMA creates one-stop-shopping for students and faculty, as well as a virtual social hub (PIMA also requires a lot of face-to-face collaboration; typically 20 hours per week, on average, outside of class time).
PIMA students tend to be mid-career professionals in their fields, and their email correspondence is correspondingly quite dense. By separating MFA communications completely from email, we remove the burden of "sorting out" MFA communications from professional and personal, and remove the need for students to spend valuable time keeping a massive amount of information organized. Thus PIMA is a 99% email-free program (and does not use other channels like Slack or WhatsApp…).
Prospective students are invited to join the server to meet faculty and current students, and see the flow of information within the program; contact the program directors for an invite!