Ontario College of Art & Design

Course Calendar

COURSE DESCRIPTION

GDES 3C01
Design Study Abroad
1.00 Credit(s)
Studio
Prerequisite: 8.5 credits, including all first-year requirements (5.0 credits)
India offers an exciting opportunity for students in both the Faculty of Design and the Faculty of Art to travel, explore and to co-design with a local community in rural India. Students will be working with organizations to identify design projects that can help these organizations and the people they work with in the community. Examples include: women's empowerment organizations, microfinance groups and an orphanage for boys, among others. Possible project opportunities include designing or re-designing products, services and environments, creating educational materials, developing marketing campaigns, etc. The scope of the projects will be determined as students delve into co-designing with the organizations and the local community.

This course offers students a unique opportunity to work within a local community in an international setting to engage in solutions that can have a meaningful impact. This experience will allow students to gain an in-depth understanding of a local culture through exploration, observation, and other design tools. Working independently and/or in groups, students will interact with organizations and members of a community to identify challenges and possible solutions. Students will then integrate what they have learned through this participatory design process to develop design solutions that are innovative, appropriate, and implementable.

This opportunity will take place in Malavli, India. Located about 100 km from Mumbai. Malavli is a town in the Pune district of the Indian state of Maharashtra. The course is open to students across art and design disciplines at OCAD U who are adaptable, flexible, independent, curious, respectful, resourceful and passionate about design.
Notes: NOT OFFERED FALL/WINTER
OFFERED IN SUMMER
Application Process: Please submit your application, which includes a 250-word essay describing why you want to be part of the course and how you see yourself contributing to the team of student designers and a mini-portfolio of your work (3 to 5 projects that you feel will best exemplify your ethos/point of view and abilities as a designer) as a single PDF and email it to stranum@faculty.ocadu.ca.
Registration: An override will be required from the Faculty of Design office to register in this course.
Tuition: Please note that tuition for this course must be prepaid prior to Monday, May 13, 2013.

This course is offered during the summer semester.
Conditions: Only third-year and fourth-year students or alumni with a minimum overall average of 70% are eligible to take this course.
Course was last updated July 9, 2014 - 10:46 AM