Partnerships and industry relations are an essential feature in research and education at The School of Design. They help us secure a dynamic and business-oriented perspective and strengthen the link to the rest of society.
All students are offered work placement both in Denmark and abroad, and we involve business and design professionals as counsellors, participants in design projects and workshops, as guest ecturers, and research and business partners. All the school’s teachers have experience from the design industry or are currently active in the profession. Many of the school’s projects unfold in interdisciplinary courses where students challenge customary perceptions and inspire companies with new perspectives on business, technology and design.
Advisory board
The Advisory Board is a network of industry experts that share an active dialog and give advice on strategic issues within education, research and innovation. Read about the board.
"Practically every business context requires
creative raw material, from ideation to the
distribution stage – and here, nothing can
compete with a good design school graduate.
The modernization of the education at The
Danish Design School in recent years has also
ensured that today’s graduates are far better
prepared to help solve complex, technological
and content-related design challenges.”
- Anders Byriel, CEO, Kvadrat A/S
Director of the Business Panel of
The School of Design, 2011
Mentor programme
More than 100 professionals from Danish companies, design firms and educational institutions are ready to offer counselling and inspiration. From their first year, each student can with a personal ducational mentor who acts as their sparring partner throughout their studies and offers advice on career choices, networking and new avenues into the job market.
Work placement
The School has work placement agreements with the biggest, most innovative and newest workplaces. From Fritz Hansen, H&M and Alexander McQueen to Lego, Danfoss and Kontrapunkt. Work placement prepare our students for the practical everyday life of a designer. We arrange work placement in government-owned and private companies anywhere from Berlin and Beijing to New York.
Industry projects
We bring the industry into the labs, workshops and studios with companies and organisations such as Royal Copenhagen, Fritz Hansen, Motorola and Børnecancerfonden. We use conferences, xhibitions and competitions to form close links with companies such as Widex, INDEX-Award, Ford, Post Danmark and Carlsberg.
Lectures, workshops and networks with the profession
We offer inspiring lecturers with specialists, who bring the latest new practices to the courses. Thus, our students are exposed to new input about Danish and international trends and methods: In tghe recent years the list included Ross Lovegrove, Gideon Loewy, IDEO, Mervyn Kurlansky, Davis & Shrigley, Christopher Breward, Liz Sanders, Wolff Olins and many, many others.
DesignVagt: updated knowledge about design and law
We offer Design:Vagt (designWatch), a mobile counselling service in collaboration with the Danish Patent and Trademark Office, where students meet design specialists to be equipped for the new global reality where a professional approach to design protection, rights and law is a crucial element in any designer’s tool box.
Collaborating across educational boundaries
We continue the Danish design tradition for collaboration and ensure new growth potential through new educational partnerships with other business-relevant programmes – including Integrated Design ith the Copenhagen Business School and the Technical University of Denmark, the interdisciplinary computer game degree DADIU (IT University of Copenhagen and others), Co-Design Clusters and The Interaction Design Programme, a new international programme in interaction design. All our initiatives and projects aim to ensure that our graduates come out as designers, craft artists and front runners with unique profiles and expertise.
