An industry-responsive model of professional practice for industrial design : a work-integrated learning case study at a local University of Technology

Abstract

Economic recession and job scarcity has led to a decline in the demand for design services. Graduates in all fields are faced with the risk of unemployment beyond graduation, with youth unemployment rates in South Africa and globally at alarming levels. The evolving social and economic challenges of our times place increasing pressure on the responsibility of higher education institutions to design learning experiences that adequately prepare graduates for the world of work, whether in employment or in entrepreneurial self-employment. However, there is a significant gap between universities’ supply and industry’s demand for graduates with the desired attributes, which research shows include not only subject-specific knowledge and skills, but particularly ‘soft skills’ that make an employee effective at work. The paradox of students graduating without professional experience can be overcome through approaches such as work-integrated learning, which embed the lessons of professional practice into design education curricula. This research project examines a case study of work-integrated learning at a South African university of technology in order to develop an industry-responsive model of professional practice in Industrial Design education. The case examined is the “R5K project”, a year-long group project in BTech Industrial Design in which students are challenged – simulating the world of work - to design, develop, manufacture, market and sell a product, and earn at least ZAR 5 000. This research set out to assess the extent to which the project effectively prepared students for work.