Unfortunately this minor will not take place in the academic year of 2024-2025.
You have an interest in cultural and creative industries and design and you are passionate about making a positive impact in the world. You can work independently and are comfortable working in international and interdisciplinary teams. During this minor you will discover how design thinking and creative industries can help build a more sustainable future for yourself and others. You will collaborate with students from different backgrounds and cultures, and work on projects blending culture, technology and art, in order to solve real problems that matter to you. Students with a background in such areas as Design, (Creative) Business, Management and Entrepreneurship as well as Public Policy or Public Administration may be interested in this minor.
Admission
You need enough oral and reading English language skills to follow classes in English and to produce written documents, such as project proposals (level B2 or higher on the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR)). The minor does not require an internship or work placement.You need to have obtained your propedeutic degree to follow this minor. This course may not be attended by part-time students.
The Examination Board has already determined which minors do not have a higher professional education level and/or have an unacceptable overlap with the compulsory curriculum of your own study programme. Check at the page Not allowed minor courses under your institute which minors are not allowed. This page will be updated from 29 February 2024 for the 2024-2025 minor offer.
Content
Sustainability is not just a buzzword. It is a huge opportunity for you to grow your career and make an impact. This minor is a unique chance for you to design your own learning path, tackle real-world challenges with creative solutions, and learn how to get funding and support for your ideas. You might even apply for funding with your project proposal to turn your project into a reality and make a difference in the world.
Sustainability specialists are in high demand and will be even more so in the next decade as the world transitions to a low-carbon economy. Businesses are looking for people like you who have the passion, knowledge and skills to help them to become more sustainable. Completing this minor will prove that you are ready for the future, giving you a competitive edge in the job market.
This minor will help you develop ‘green’ skills that are urgently needed in the job market. While equipping you with the necessary theory, the minor will teach you to identify real-world challenges and develop practical solutions to these. You will be given freedom to choose the real-life challenge you want to focus on and to involve real-life partners – businesses, organisations or communities – in co-creating your solution. You will learn to identify funding opportunities that can support the implementation of your project, prepare a project proposal and apply for relevant funding.
You will focus on a specific region and/or community and the sustainability challenges it is facing. Working in an international and interdisciplinary team, you will explore the potential of the creative industries to drive transformative change in this specific context. You will apply design thinking to develop a solution to the identified challenge. You will also learn how to take advantage of new policies and funding opportunities to bring your project to life.
The minor focuses on the design of projects at the intersection of technology, culture and arts. A visit to The Festival of the New European Bauhaus or similar events showcasing the best practices in developing intersectional sustainability-oriented design projects will be foreseen.
Learning outcomes
You will:
- learn about the role of culture in sustainability transitions;
- know how to use a range of design approaches (Value-Sensitive Design, Transition Design, Design Justice) to address sustainability challenges;
- understand how to co-create solutions and build partnerships;
- learn to work in international and cross-disciplinary teams;
- be able to identify opportunities for funding and prepare project proposals.
Throughout the course, you will produce a range of creative outputs – from publications in the course zine, to a real-life project proposal addressing a local sustainability challenge with a solution blending culture, technology and art. The most ambitious of you may use your project proposals to apply for funding and bring your projects to life.
Courses
Module 1 – Culture-led Transitions
Culture is at the forefront of driving sustainability transitions. The creative sector needs new approaches and models to become more sustainable and inclusive. It can also inspire people to imagine and co-create a viable, low carbon, just and sustainable future. In this module we will focus on these two dimensions:
New Models for Creative Industries
This module is about the ways creative industries can transition towards a more sustainable and inclusive future by adopting alternative economic and organisational models (solidarity economy, governing the commons, cooperatives). You will be asked to find a local creative community and prepare a case study about it. The end result will be published in a zine.
Designing for Transformation
You will learn about some of the newest approaches to design for sustainability and regeneration: Transition Design; Value-Sensitive design, Design Justice. The focus will be on the cultural and creative sectors and the possibilities of bringing together arts, culture and technology to design experiences, services, spaces that inspire the transformation.
Module 2 – Designing Transformative Projects
You will work in international interdisciplinary teams. To enable that, the minor will leverage the possibilities of the Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL) network for international collaborations with sustainability-oriented programmes. The goal is to bring students from a different field such as engineering, urban planning, policy or even art to build a team with complementary skills.
Building Transformative Partnerships
You will learn to identify strategic opportunities, analyse stakeholders and build partnerships to address a real-life challenge.
Developing Successful Project Proposals
How do you go from an idea to action? You will obtain skills and knowledge that will help you bring your ideas to life. You will learn where to look for and how to apply for funding, from identifying a suitable type of funding, to developing and submitting a proposal.
Cross-sectoral collaboration
You will work in a team with students from a COIL partner university, with occasional general meetings and consultation/feedback sessions.
Assessment
The assessment will be based on the competencies demonstrated in your portfolio. The portfolio will consist of two parts:
- A range of outputs you will produce individually or with your team throughout the course, such as zine publications, project proposals, strategic analyses.
- Your own reflection on your learning process and the skills and knowledge you have obtained during the course.
Literature
Friedman, B. & Hendry, D. (2019). Value Sensitive Design: Shaping Technology with Moral Imagination. MIT Press.
Irwin, T., Kossoff, G., Tonkinwise, C. & Scupelli, P. (2015). Transition Design. School of Design, Carnegie Mellon University
Dunlop, K. & Christofidou, A. (2023). Culture and Creative Sectors and Industries Driving Green Transition and Facing the Energy Crisis. Voices of Culture Brainstorming Report.
Schedule
The schedule and the days are not yet known.
With the exception of the first teaching period of the academic year (starting September), the lesson and test schedules are always posted on Mijn Rooster four weeks before the start of each teaching period. The schedule for the first teaching period of the academic year can be found on the site three weeks before the start. The most up-to-date schedule is always visible on Mijn Rooster.
At HU, full-time education may be scheduled between 08:30 and 19:00.
Additional costs
Some additional costs may be involved in visiting exhibitions (such as The Festival of the New European Bauhaus in Brussels). These visits are optional.