31 Aug 2018 / News about students

Semester start for new and popular MA programme

At Design School Kolding, the semester start is right around the corner, and with it a new MA programme with 75 new students
By idh@dskd.dk

Design School Kolding’s redesigned MA programme for People, Planet and Play has been well received. The programme received 227 applications and now the 75 students who made it through the eye of the needle are ready to release their creativity.

Lone Dalsgaard, Prorector at Design School Kolding, is happy that the students welcome the new way of structuring the MA programme. There has been equal interest in all three specialisations, and so the students are almost equally divided between People, Planet and Play.

- It’s a complex thing when you cross different design domains but we see that the applicants understand the structure. I look forward to the fact that the knowledge, which we have been building for the past 10 years, will now be reflected directly in the programme. That the way we see the challenges of the world will now be a concrete part of our MA programme, says Lone Dalsgaard.

Press play to start
The new MA programme commenced last year with the Design for Play programme, which has been established in collaboration with the LEGO Foundation and LEGO Group. This year, twice as many students have been accepted in the programme. Lene Nyhus Friis, Head of the Laboratory for Play and Design, is quite sure about the reasons why the programme is so popular, among students and in general.

- The Scandinavian attitude towards play is special and something that the rest of the world follows with great interest. In our part of the world, we see play as a necessity for children and adults alike; as something that makes us grow and develop as human beings. We believe that play can open and release a potential that makes you more creative and better at working with others. You can use the playful approach for a lot of things. It’s not just about toys. I think that the positive message and the hope that is inherent in play, resonates with people, says Lene Nyhus Friis.

The new playmates
The start-up of the two other specialisations, People and Planet, now complete the redesigned MA programme at Design School Kolding. Head of the Design for Planet programme, Ulla Ræbild, looks forward to starting the new programme.

- A lot of students experience the dilemma of creating more new things for a world that is already in abundance. We see a need to equip designers for creating change rather than creating more problems, Ulla Ræbild explains.

The Design for People programme also focuses on change and creating solutions.

- We address a lot of the societal issues that we are faced with and that we can expect to see more of in the future. So the programme has enormous societal relevance. Design can solve complex issues, and I look forward to expanding our knowledge and action in this field, says Anne Corlin, Head of the Design for People programme.

All three heads of programme look forward to working with their students across design fields on one focal area.

- I can’t wait to get startet. It will be like working together on one shared agenda. I hope we will feel like a unity where we help and challenge each other. It’s about discovering new ways of doing things when we combine our design fields, says Ulla Ræbild, Head of the Design for Planet programme.

“I look forward to the fact that the knowledge, which we have been building for the past 10 years, will now be reflected directly in the programme. That the way we see the challenges of the world will now be a concrete part of our MA programme.Lone Dalsgaard, Prorector, Design School Kolding”