The real work experience aims to open design graduates' eyes to the opportunities of using their skills beyond the usual design roles and the possibility of working in the public sector. Concurrently, the programme aims to educate public sector bodies on the skills and value designers can bring to their organisations.
Kate
Paul
Kate
In preparation for The Real Work Experience workshops later this month, last Thursday nine graduate and undergraduate designers took part in an engaging afternoon of workshop training!
Arriving at the thinkpublic studio from Bristol, Brighton, Bournemouth, Glasgow, London, Kent and Leeds our leading designers are each running workshops on Friday 21st November to explore what young designers need to enable them to use their skills for social causes.
For more information about the “Design for Social Change” workshops and last weeks training day see the full story on the thinkpublic blog.
Kate
On Friday 21st November, final year and graduate designers will run simultaneous workshops up and down the country, in an exciting stage two of The Real Work Experience!
Exploring how designers can play a role in social improvement, we are asking young designers to consider what “The Real Work Experience” could do for them? Could it be an online network that bridges the gap between education and seeking (socially engaged) work? Could it be a mentoring program, or a regular series of events that discuss design’s wider potential? What do designers and graduates need, to be able to use their skills to tackle social issues? What does a movement toward socially responsible design look like to you?
Competition: Each workshop will run for approximately three hours and each group will be asked to discuss, develop and design a concept for the future of the initiative. The ‘outcome’ to the workshop can be in any format you wish – maybe a prototype, diagram or a well written out concept. thinkpublic will then choose a winning idea and that team will be awarded support to put it into reality. We essentially want you to become a part of the future development of The Real Work Experience program!
Locations (more info soon!): 1. The Arts Institute at Bournemouth 2. Glasgow School of Art 3. University of the West of England, Bristol 4. Ravensbourne College of Design & Communication, London 5. University of Brighton 6. Leeds College of Art and Design [TBC]
Prior to the workshops, our lead graduates will visit the thinkpublic studio, where they will get to meet one another and be given the tools to run the 3 hour workshops.
If you would to get involved with any of the above locations, join us on Facebook or email me at kate.andrews@therealworkexperience.com
The workshops are organised by The Real Work Experience, an initiative founded by thinkpublic. They will run in partnership with Make Your Mark’s Enterprise Week and Global Entrepreneurship Week.
Jodie
Do you know a young person who is creating change in their community? Or has a great idea to make a difference?....Nominate them for a CHANGEit award!
CHANGEit, run by Common Purpose and sponsored by Deutsche Bank, recognises, supports and rewards young campaigners aged 11-18 who want to create a positive change in their communities and encourages young people to speak up and take action.
CHANGEit will award prizes of up to £750 in three categories:
Innovation – for young people with ideas to improve their community, who need training or support to get their campaign off the ground.
Performance – to celebrate the achievements of young campaigners who have already taken positive action.
Photo Contest – young people’s photos that capture ‘campaigning in action’ that was started or helped by young people
Nominations can be submitted online, for individuals or groups, at www.changeit.org.uk. Every young person nominated will receive a certificate of recognition. Campaigns can be big or small and deal with any issue. Judges are looking for passion, innovation and the determination to create change.
The closing date is 12 January 2009 –so nominate today! Winners will be announced at an award ceremony in spring 2009. Spread the word! Forward this to family, friends and colleagues who may know remarkable young people. It is an excellent way to encourage and recognise young campaigners, the leaders of tomorrow.
Alice
Kate
Alice
Kate
Hi All,
On Monday, I spent the day with thinkpublic at Northampton General Hospital running a “Pitch Your Project” event. Pitch Your Project is part of our Journeys to Health collaboration with UK volunteering charity TimeBank.
Groups of local people attended the day to pitch their health related idea to the team of “dragons”! Amongst the pitches were “Chesspoint Services”, a local initiative utilising the game of chess as a means to improve the lives of people with mental health difficulties. The second group in to see the dragons were the energetic and inspiring committee members from “Holidays at Home”, an annual holiday for folk over 65 who have not had a holiday in the last 2 years.
Following their pitches each group then spent time with us in the ‘Green Room’ where we openly discussed their current communication tools and gave advice and shared knowledge on improvements.
The day was really enjoyable and I met some very inspirational (and very funny) characters who are truly working to better the lives of others around them.
For more information about Pitch Your Project, you can visit JourneystoHealth.org
If you are in the Northampton area and interested in using your design skills to help out one of these inspiring social ventures, we a looking for design graduates to support some of the local projects.
If this sounds like something you’d like to be involved in, or would like more information, get in touch at hello@therealworkexperience.com.
eilidh
A Couple of months ago I was lucky enough to be given the opportunity to work on a service improvement project in Wigan renal Unit. The unit is a Satellite of Salford Royal NHS Foundation Trust that provides patients with renal dialysis closer to their home without having to go into hospital. The emphasis on the project is to enhance patient and staff experiences. This will be achieved by addressing the key issues by using co-design and user centred design processes.
The first stage of the project involved me visiting the Renal Unit for the day.
During this time i did observations and chatted to patients and staff to hear their stories and thoughts about the unit. Whist i was there i realised what a niche service this is for the patients, they use it three times a week, it is essential that their start to finish journey is methodical and the whole process can often take up to 7 hours, and they are dependant on it to keep them alive
However although this is the case i have never met a group of people that were more upbeat and positive, they were great! They know they need this treatment, but they get on with it and make the most of it. The patients and staff have a real family vibe between them, they are all treated with equality rather than a division between staff and patients, it was very refreshing.
After a full day spent at the unit and a good discussion and mini brainstorming session with Dr Hegarty the renal consultant we had devised a good action plan and specific areas to approach. Some of these are
Since visiting the Renal Unit for the first time I have bee preparing for my next visit to implement some of the more visual changes, run activities with the patients and workshops with the staff.
This project has been fab so far, I love the work I’ve been doing, working alongside the staff and patients has been incredible, and seeing them get excited about the ideas and being involved with the design process is great, they really deserve to feel a sense of satisfaction and achievement for their attitudes and enthusiasm.
Ian
The Breast Feeding Peer Support group, are a group of volunteers dedicated to spreading the health benefits of breast feeding to mothers in and around Northumbria.
The Breast Feeding Peer Support group are in the process of growing and are looking to work with a designer, based in or around Northumbria.
This is an opportunity to:
Work with The Breast Feeding Peer Support group to design a prototype toolkit that supports the work they do.
Design a local marketing campaign that helps people understand the benefits of breast feeding.
If this sounds like something you’d like to be involved in, or would like more information, get in touch at hello@therealworkexperience.com.
eilidh
Deborah
Deborah
Yesterday I was judging the RSA engage project. It was exciting to see how the design students who had responded to the brief, had been through a real learning experience. They had learnt how they could use their design skills outside the design sector. It was great to hear them talking so passionately about social issues which they could see how their design skills could add value and help improve. We need more of these competitions and hopefully this is something that The Real Work Experience can help to support.
Deborah
Just a quick note to let everyone know that we are all working away planning the next steps for the real work experience. We will post up more info as soon as we have more details.
Ian
Alice
Paul
Paul
Paul
Deborah
Deborah
I’d like to start by thanking everyone who contributed to the Real Work Experience Event. I felt it was a great start to an interesting and timely conversation about how designers can work better with the public sector and vice versa.
The concept of developing a work experience programme for design students and graduates to gain experience of the public sector, felt like the tip of an iceberg for other great ideas that could really make a difference in improving communications and connections within this area. Some of the other opportunities we started to identify from the events conversations include:
- What could an online network look like and what would be discussed in this space?
- What would networking events for designers and public sector professionals include? Where would they be and how often?
- Who can we work with to connection these conversations between grassroots and policy, to ensure this concept spreads?
- What would a social design course include?
- What types of live projects are feasible to develop and run between design students/ graduates and the public sector?
- What types of courses could be developed for public sector professionals to understand more about working with designers?
- Is there potential to develop role swapping events and observational visits to support practical learning for both sectors?
I’m really keen that we develop a space to connect conversations between designers and public sector professionals, as I feel this is how we can really start to build a shared understanding and language of how each sector works. Whilst starting to identify what needs to be done to ensure that designers can work with the public sector to make positive improvements for all. We aim for this website to be the start of a conversation and would invite you to join the network and added comments and work with us to grow this social networking and learning space. Over to you…
Click here to download the report
Click here to view photos of the day
The launch event was held as part of:
If you'd like to get in touch please e-mail hello@therealworkexperience.com
