Well-balanced course content, live projects and a studio culture are just some of the reasons Interior Design students at De Montfort University Leicester (DMU) are 100 per cent satisfied.
The course scored the highest-possible rating in the National Student Survey (NSS) 2016, which asked hundreds of thousands of final-year students about areas such as teaching, assessment and feedback, organisation and management, learning resources and personal development.
Located in the landmark Vijay Patel Building – DMU’s new home to art and design courses - the Interior Design course content was carefully streamlined recently.
Assignments have been halved to a more manageable number and the variety of assessments have expanded to include films, blogs, essays, animations and scale models using the latest techniques in cutting edge workshops.
Rosemarie Fitton, DMU’s Subject Leader for Interior Design, said: “To achieve our ambition of better-balanced content we looked at the course as a whole and not just at individual modules.
“We found that this approach has given students the time and space to experiment and have much more fun on projects.”
In recognition of industry requirements and to improve their overall university experience, students across all years of the course have the chance to work on a wide range of live projects.
These are often undertaken together with international and local companies and organisations such as Caterpillar, Leicester’s New Walk Museum, the Abbey Pumping Station, Birmingham’s Queen Elizabeth Hospital, the Leicester Squash Club and HM Prison Leicester.
Among the programme for first year students is designing and building elaborate dog houses which are then donated to local animal shelters as part of the Barkitecture project.
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Students in their second year have been involved in projects ranging from DMU’s hi-tech sustainable Energy Lab - an inspiring space in which students and staff can build and test their new ideas – to designing the centrepiece of a Hammer Horror exhibition in the Heritage Centre.
Other live projects have seen third year students gain national recognition, such as Deborah Abidakun winning a £1,000 prize and an internship in the national RSA Student Design Awards for her inclusive pedestrian navigation system.
Milena and Zoe looking happy at Haley Sharpe Design
The course also prides itself on its strong sense of studio culture, cultivated through large, open studios and work spaces.
Recent graduate Jade Morgan said: “The excellent facilities available on the course gave me the ability to reach my full potential.”
Rosemarie added: “Thanks to our open-plan environment, students across all years of the course have the chance to learn from, support and inspire each other.
“As a result, 50 per cent of our students secured design jobs within two months of graduating and we continue to support the rest for as long as they need our help.”
Award-winning Amie Vantomme, who also graduated this summer, now works as a designer at Leonard Design Architects in London, after impressing them during a yearlong placement in her third year at DMU.
She said: “At DMU there are no limitations on what you can do or choose to do.
Both Milena Wiorkiewicz and Zoe Lee were snapped up by Haley Sharpe Design, whose designers have worked on high-profile projects across the UK, Middle East and North America.
Current Interior Design MDes student Larissa Wale said: “DMU’s Interior Design course has a range of tutors that all specialise in different areas - this and the fact that they are all more than willing to help is what I believe makes the course so successful.”
Posted on Tuesday 22 November 2016