Society increasingly looks to designers as harbingers of awareness, behavioural change and innovation. Technologies change and domains that were once separate now increasingly meet. As a result, societal issues demand creative, applicable solutions. These solutions need to transcend the traditional boundaries between disciplines in order to have a lasting impact on daily life. That is why students of HKU Design (part of HKU University of the Arts Utrecht) work in dynamic environments that compel them to constantly take on new roles and rethink the context in which they produce their work. This is what we call our education-through-designing.
We accept and embrace the fact that the personal development of students is not something we can minutely control. Instead we guide them on the path to meaningful encounters. Through their education, our students will meet a plethora of techniques, media, skills, procedures and traditions as part of their subject area. We challenge them to position themselves amidst these elements and add their own, distinctive voice to their field of work.
