As Policy Advisor at Industrial Design, Gabriëlle Ribbens helps to design an updated bachelor’s programme. After years of work, the new curriculum rolls out this September.
Gabriëlle Ribbens: “The field is changing a lot, design challenges are getting more complex.”
“I started my studies in 2011 at the Faculty of Industrial Design Engineering and also did my master’s here in Design for Interaction. During that time, I did a lot of education work, for example on the Faculty Student Council. I also did a board year as Commissioner of Education for the study association and I got to know a lot of people from the faculty, especially staff from Education and Student Affairs. After I finished my studies, they asked me to work on the bachelor revision project.
Normally we revise a bachelor’s programme about every seven years, but we’ve had ours since 2007. It means we were kind of overdue, but it also means that our current bachelor’s programme is pretty good. There wasn’t a lot wrong with it, but it was time to update the curriculum. The field is changing a lot, design challenges are getting more complex, and it’s going very fast. For example, designing with data is something that wasn’t really incorporated in the programme before and that’s something that really needs to be in there. There were also some didactical aspects that they wanted to change. So about four years ago they started planning and creating the vision. It takes a lot of time to create a totally new programme like this, with a new set-up and incorporating new content.
‘There is way more elective space’
My official role is as Policy Advisor for the bachelor revision but in reality, I think it’s a lot more than that. I work closely with the Bachelor Coordinator and she always says that I’m like her right and left hands. I also do a lot of project management. I’m handling a lot of organisational aspects of the project but I have also done quite a bit of content related stuff. In the beginning we did co-creation sessions and a lot of design so that was really nice. A lot of aspects of the current bachelor’s programme were really good and are kept in the new programme, only with some updates and reshuffled over the courses. Now, we’re trying to manage the whole process and align everything, so that not only the individual courses are well-built, but also the programme as a whole too.
Looking at the new programme I think it’s really good and I’m quite sad that I have already finished my studies and can’t do it again. I think what’s cool is that you have more opportunities to choose for yourself, there is way more elective space and you also get a lot of autonomy. In terms of content, I think it prepares you for the real world, for big design challenges. It’s not only about making a new product or service, but about looking at the system as a whole and dealing with societal problems.
The new programme will start in September so at this point all the Course Coordinators are working really hard to finalise their courses. I’m proud of the Faculty and the Course Coordinators and everyone who is working on this. It’s a huge job, but our team has been really enthusiastic and it feels like there’s a positive energy around the new bachelor’s programme.
I never saw myself being involved with designing education but I really enjoy the aspect of the studies here that you can go in so many different directions. It has been interesting to have had a say in what the next generation of industrial designers is going to learn and how, by giving the students more autonomy about how they will go through their studies. I would like to continue in a project management role after this, but maybe in a different environment. I think health innovation is really interesting so I would kind of like to move in that direction when this project is finished.”
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Heather Montague / Freelance writer
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