Life at University, a place of expression for a lot of people, a social experience for most, and importantly, a practical step into the working world for many, but is it?
What has struck me whilst looking around Degree Show’s last Summer was the amazing breadth of talent that continues to emerge, we have some of the best creative talent in the world, but why aren’t students leaving more equipped with the real life skills that are required in a professional creative environment, the presentation skills, an understanding of budgets, and time planning?
I was talking about this very issue with a friend of mine who works in the design industry, and he told me about an interview he had been sat in on for a graduate position. The graduate’s portfolio wasn’t great, not in terms of the quality, but that the projects did not bear any resemblance to what this graduate was likely to experience, or be involved in, in the industry the course was supposedly preparing them for.
Universities must of course continue to support creativity first and foremost, but the ability to nurture and guide graduates to a point where they can be in a position to sell themselves, as well as their work, has to work in tangent with creative degrees in such a competitive field.
The number of University applications is decreasing across the board, but where this is most evident, is in the creative sector. Students study Law to become Lawyers, Medicine to become Doctors, but when it comes to creative ambitions, the outcome is a little less clear. By including a business angle into creative degrees, Universities would be offering graduates key advice and support, and realistic targets once the confines of student life ends, and the imminent arrival of professional life looms.
I have met with a number of graduates over the last few months, talking to them about working together to not only give them well-needed exposure as new designers, but to also make them some much needed cash for their creativity, and try and make some kind of dent in their ever-growing student debt.
What was clear from all of them, was that their isn’t really any support at University level. I’d like to see more guest speakers, creative industry experts, and past students who have made it in business get onto campuses, and get students not only more inspired and motivated, but more commercially savvy too.
I’m certainly not claiming to be an expert when it comes to the economy, but we’re in a right old mess. The Government talks about the need to kick-start new business, small and medium enterprises. For me the answer is simple, get into Universities, we want creativity to expand and grow, and the more knowledge there is about combining business with creativity, the more graduates will continue doing what they love, and not just end up in the first job that pays the bills.
