Development and teaching go hand in hand
The number of lessons at Design School Koldings is not decreasing. On the contrary the teaching receives more funds than ever thanks to business partnerships.
Since 2009 the teaching has received between DKK 2,6 million and 5,6 million annually. Over the past three years, more than DKK 5 million have been allocated to teaching. And these funds are not financed through the state Budget but are purely the external funds generated through partnerships with private companies.
For the academic year 2013/14 a total of 13,950 lessons were given at Design School Kolding's BA and MA programmes. The teaching is organised so the majority of lessons are given at the BA programme.
Lone Dalsgaard André, Head of Education at Design School Kolding, explains this prioritisation:
-Placing the majority of lesson in the BA programme is based on the perception that when you are a new and young student you need more teaching and guidance, and it also enables us to establish a foundation of knowledge and experience for the individual. When they reach MA levels, the students have matured both personally and professionally and it makes sense to organise a large part of the teaching as individual supervision.
To give an example, a BA student who studies Comunication Design receives 829.3 lessons per year or 23.7 lessons per week for 35 weeks. An MA student receives 383.5 per year or 11.0 lessons per week for 35 weeks. The reduced number of lessons in the MA programme is due partly to the individual supervision but also to the fact that the students have one-semester mandatory traineeships and therefore spend one quarter of the time away from the school.
Lone Dalsgaard André concludes:
- We really want the business community, public institutions, and others to realise the creative and innovative potential that the collaboration between a designer and a company holds. At the same time we want to prepare our students for the real world. With our company partnerships we attain this AND we are able to channel funding as well as knowhow into our teaching.
