Collaboration in the project-led curriculum: learning together with public, private and third sector organisations

Abstract

This paper is set in the context of a project-led curriculum in postgraduate design education, in which live projects in collaboration with public, private and third sector organisations prepare students for their professional life. The authors propose to adopt a knowledge exchange perspective to the design of collaborations in order to develop tailored mechanisms of collaboration that maximise the value of the project-led curriculum for all of the stakeholders involved.

The paper presents three collaborative curriculum-projects carried out during an academic year (2017-2018). Firstly, a well-established collaboration with a public sector organisation whereby postgraduate students carry out in-depth 10-week curriculum projects, engaging stakeholders through exploratory design research methods, such as design ethnography, co-design workshops and service prototyping, and deliver research and service concepts to the client. Secondly, a five-day Service Design Sprint divided in two stages that combine curriculum project and graduate consultancy, in which postgraduate students, tutors and visiting professional tackle a well-structured challenge with a private enterprise client, focusing on implementation and measurement of a service proposal. Thirdly, a student-led participatory project with a public sector organisation, divided into four phases over the period of two months with busts of intensity. The paper concludes by reflecting on the challenges and opportunities of each of the collaborations, as reported to and perceived by the academic staff.