Using the Hanze Model for Curriculum Development to Optimize Design Projects in the Bachelor Curriculum Program Product Development
Year: 2012
Editor: Lyndon Buck, Geert Frateur, William Ion, Chris McMahon, Chris Baelus, Guido De Grande, Stijn Verwulgen
Author: Corremans, Jan A.M.; Coppieters, Werner
Series: E&PDE
Institution: Artesis University College Antwerp, Belgium
Section: New Design Education Paradigms
Page(s): 363-368
ISBN: 978-1-904670-36-0
Abstract
The integration of human, technological and economic aspects in product design is considered to be the most important competence of an industrial designer. A designer has to integrate aesthetic aspects, usability, mechanical and operational aspects, production techniques, ecological aspects and aspects such as price setting, market positioning, etc. First and second year bachelor students find it rather difficult and confusing to unite all these aspects within an integrated design project. To monitor the progression of the student’s overall design competences in a better way, we tried to rethink the composition of design projects of the bachelor program, based on the Hanze model for curriculum development. The Hanze model for curriculum development is created by the Hanze University of Groningen. Its foundation lies in the merging of different educational models and is based on the idea that the integration of competences should be built up gradually throughout the bachelor years. The first part of this paper focuses on the benchmark of the different design projects in the bachelor curriculum Product Development at the Artesis University College Antwerp applying the principles of the Hanze curriculum model. The second part illustrates a design project of the second bachelor year, where the principles of the Hanze model are applied and integrated in the design brief. The limitation of the assessed competences in the different design projects in the first and second bachelor year seems to be a good choice and allows the students to study the concerned topics with sufficient depth.
Keywords: Curriculum development, bachelor program, design education