Picture: Students during the onboarding week of Co-Design Studio
In a time where collaboration and innovation are essential for both education and the business world, the Co-Design Studio minor stands out as an example of creative collaboration. For seventeen semesters, HU University of Applied Sciences Utrecht has been organizing this program, bringing together students from various disciplines to lead their own design studio. But what makes this minor work? Discover how the innovative framework of Co-Design Studio not only supports innovation within education but also offers valuable insight for organizations seeking fresh perspectives.
We share our experiences as Fundamentals, reflecting on our years of involvement in organizing the minor, and speak with program coordinator Kim van Veldhuijzen and client Micha van Hoorn.
During Co-Design Studio, juniors (students) from different disciplines jointly run their own design studio, following the Co-Design approach to design. The program focuses on the personal and professional development of juniors, systemic and social design, and making an impact with real clients. The minor aims to promote creative thinking and working in various fields/sectors, thus fostering collaboration between educational institutions, organizations, and businesses.
The structure of the minor serves as a framework that can also be applied or tailored to other minors. Kim van Veldhuijzen, program coordinator of the Co-Design Studio minor at Fundamentals, explains the loose structure of the minor.
The first week is for getting to know each other between juniors and coaches, to establish a good group culture and dynamics. This week is called the 'onboarding week.' This is followed by a baselining week, where juniors learn the basic principles of design skills. During the Co-Design Studio, there are two major projects with clients facing different challenges and group compositions. Challenge Based Learning is often applied in these projects. In these projects, juniors work in groups on a real assignment and put what they have learned into practice. Kim emphasizes, "This part of the minor can be tough for juniors, especially during the second project, as they have less time and may already be tired from the previous weeks. But the structure of the program is designed this way. Students learn a lot from the challenges in the program."
To support the personal and professional development of the juniors, they are accompanied by life coaches during the minor, with whom they can talk and who can help them with their challenges. Additionally, they have the opportunity to participate in various creative workshops or programs, such as the Sustainable Campus Challenge.
After an intensive part of the minor, new energy emerges during the international week. The juniors travel to a partner design studio somewhere in Europe to work on a project for a few days. Previously, juniors worked in Budapest, Turku, Manchester, Warsaw, and Valencia, amongst other locations.
The final part of the minor is a moment for juniors to deeply reflect on what they have learned and who they are as designers, and then actively engage with this in the final project to demonstrate it. In this final project, juniors have more responsibilities and space to work on their own skills and areas for development.
Picture: Student reflecting in Co-Design Studio
According to Kim, it is important to conclude the Co-Design Studio minor positively, as this allows for reflection on the more challenging moments. Because the minor focuses heavily on practical experience, the program is concluded through programmatic assessment. This allows students to learn from the mistakes they make throughout the program. Thus, a culture of reflection is woven throughout the entire program.
An important part of the minor is collaborating with real clients. Micha van Hoorn was a client in the Co-Design Studio minor with his company, Better Together Agency. During the minor, two teams of juniors worked with him, one on a project about making menstruation discussable and the other about Gen Z at the Impact Fair. For Micha, Co-Design Studio was a match:
"It is important that young people in their education are confronted with the real world, the real working environment where they will actually operate in the future.” He enjoys working with "enthusiastic and creatively thinking students." Micha emphasizes, "Professional development is certainly present in the program for these students, as they learn to relate to me as a client and take responsibility."
Micha looks back on this collaboration with pleasure: "The structure of the minor and the guidance of the students work well. As a client, I also felt little pressure." From his participation in the minor as a client, Better Together Agency also found a new intern from one of the participating teams. A great way to continue working together.
As a client, it is valuable to participate in a minor if you are looking for future employees who can offer creative thinking, enthusiasm, and new perspectives.
The format of Co-Design Studio can be combined with other minors or educational concepts, such as challenge-based learning. "At the moment, HU University of Applied Sciences Utrecht already offers more than 150 minors. In the Netherlands, there are a total of more than 2000 minors. We see that as a result, the groups of students in some programs are becoming smaller. In this context, collaborations between minors can certainly mean something," says Kim. "This framework can also be used to combine minors with different focuses. In the Co-Design Studio minor, juniors often work at the beginning of a problem, while some minors focus more on the end of the design process."
By collaborating with other minors, all parties involved can benefit from each other's networks and experiences. By forming partnerships, it becomes easier to attract clients. They can then smoothly transition from one minor to another.
Feel free to get in touch if you're intrigued by this framework or considering becoming a client for the minor. We're eager to delve deeper into the possibilities with you.
