KEY INFORMATION Kuopio Academy of Design (Kuopion Muotoiluakatemia) is the unit of Savonia University of Applied Sciences responsible for education in culture sector leading to degrees in design and graphic design. Kuopio Academy of Design is a centre of development and excellence examining the experiential and functional product environment. Kuopio Academy of Design is committed to the communal values of the Savonia University of Applied Sciences. We are proud of our long history, We are an expert organisation operating in the present and we seek to be a pioneer oriented towards the future. The founders of the college in 1884 would undoubtedly never have guessed that Kuopio Academy of Design would, in 120 years, be an eminent national institution dedicated to the teaching of design and graphic design, and that it would have wide international contacts. The handicraft school has grown into an expert, an initiator of research and development projects and a centre of knowledge and know-how. The primary mission at the Kuopio Academy of Design is to provide and develop high-level education in design and graphic design; to research, develop, support and market these fields and to serve as a databank. In accordance with the Kuopio Academy of Design vision, the aim of research and development is to examine the relationships between user, product and use environments and to apply this research in product development. The objective inspired by this vision is to enhance well-being through professional design and graphic design by developing experiential and functional product environments and services. Our innovative policy combines business with learning as the know-how of the future The Kuopio Academy of Design aims in its work to act as an innovator in working life, business and culture and to improve the competitiveness and well-being of the North Savo region by means of training, research and development (R&D). The expertise of the Kuopio Academy of Design is developed in the contents of the linear curriculum and the research and development plan. These include the core skills in the major subjects applied in specialisation areas that support implementation of the vision. The core skills and specialisation areas in the major subjects are developed into expertise of a high standard by means of investigative activities. The aim of this development work is expertise of the highest national standard and profile and a place in the vanguard of international progress. The teaching and learning, research and development take the form of a project-based line of action in accordance with the focal areas of the Polytechnic. To this end we • carry out joint projects with businesses, projects tying in with the Polytechnic’s focal themes, multidisciplinary projects within the Polytechnic and projects with other expert organisations, Our field of excellence at Savonia University of Applied Sciences is cultural renewal in the information society while acting as a catalyst in the practical application of multi-field knowledge. As an active network force we implement the integration of the Polytechnic. The development map of our business-oriented learning path reveals a learning environment that integrates R&D, learning and practical working life and in which we develop and test operating modes. This policy has resulted in a wealth of products that have gone into production. Our operations have also resulted in the Design Forum – a research, product development and service centre for design innovations. The Design Forum is not a separate unit; rather, it is a mode operational throughout the entire Academy and distributes its resources between business, information services and management, and other training organisations, thus training students for the market, and businesses as users of design and graphic design services. It covers the entire study area as the working environment of staff and students alike. Within the innovative learning environment we find practical solutions to companies’ product development problems. The instructors and project staff update their own professional know-how while our teaching acquires significant specialist know-how on the needs of the market. The aim of the R&D conducted at Kuopio Academy of Design is to accumulate and document knowledge that increases our expertise. The market needs creative, versatile designers with a capacity for renewal. These designers understand the importance of human, technical and commercial factors in design, are aware of the need for specialisation within the various fields of design and are capable of cooperating with many fields and at many levels. The size of a company, its production, technology and design intensiveness influence the demand for designers and graphic designers at operative (project-specific fields of expertise within overall processes), tactical (process and project management, leadership skills) and strategic level (management skills connected with design expertise, the integration of design in business processes). Through working on projects the students learn in practice the skills required of them in working life.
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