Bachelor's Degree Programme in Product Design Programme description

Introduction

The bachelor studies in product design is a three-year profession-oriented programme, upon its succesfull completion candidates will be awarded the degree Bachelor of Product Design.

The programme’s profile is characterised by interaction between materiality and concept development. The programme will prepare students for work on material-related, process-related and aesthetic issues from a global, cultural, user-oriented and market-oriented perspective.

We live in a time where the aesthetics of everyday physical and immaterial design is crucial. This makes design an increasingly important profession in more areas than previously. On the programme, the traditions of the design discipline are characterised by specific workshop-based testing of materials and processes relating to the development of products for a sustainable environment. Sensory experience also plays an important part in this context.

Product design is a field that has long emphasised both tradition and history, user orientation and functionality in relation to the present, demands in the market, sustainability and trends. The changes that have taken place in the discipline in the past years allow for the possibility to use the knowledge acquired in more immaterial fields of design such as service design and systems design.

The course is adapted to the premises of the profession while at the same time creating room for the students’ individual development and reflection on their own progress.

The programme is research-based; research and artistic development work form the basis for continuous development of the programme’s content and structure, involving both research fellows and students.

The programme qualifies students for admission to the master’s degree programme in product design.

Nasjonalt kvalifikasjonsammeverk for høyere utdanning, fastsatt av Kunnskapsdepartementet mars 2009, gir oversikt over det totale læringsutbytte definert i kunnskap, ferdighet og generell kompetanse som studenten forventes å ha etter fullført utdanning. Læringsutbyttebeskrivelsene i programplan og emnebeskrivelser er utarbeidet i henhold til kvalifikasjonsrammeverket.

Gjennom studiet skal studentene tilegne seg informasjonskompetanse og kunnskap om bruk av kilder som gjør at de kan finne fram til aktuell litteratur og informasjon. De skal kunne søke etter faglitteratur og sette opp litteraturreferanser i henhold til gjeldende mal. De skal kunne grunnleggende regler for siteringer og kildebruk og kjenne til hva som defineres som plagiat og fusk i studentarbeider.

Studiet legges til rette slik at studentene tilegner seg de kunnskaper, ferdigheter og den kompetanse som gjør dem kvalifisert til å lede designprosjekter i privat og offentlig sektor. OsloMet arbeider aktivt for at det skal være et godt studie- og arbeidsmiljø ved universitetet som fremmer best mulig læring for alle studenter.

Læringsutbyttebeskrivelsene i programplanene skal ivareta utdanningens konsistens og kontinuitet. Programplanens mål gjenspeiler arbeidslivets behov, krav og forventninger til kandidatene, men skal også være slik at utvikling og ny kompetanse kan tilføres arbeidslivet. Studentene og universitetet har et felles ansvar for at målene nås.

Studentene skal utvikle seg gjennom studiet til å være:

• selvstendige
• ansvarsbevisste
• endringsvillige
• nyskapende
• reflekterende

En kandidat med fullført og bestått 3-årig bachelorgrad i produktdesign har følgende samlede læringsutbytte definert i form av kunnskap, ferdigheter og generell kompetanse:

Kunnskap

Studenten:

• har kunnskap om ulike designmetoder og strategier, og er i stand til å vurdere i hvilken sammenheng disse kan anvendes som hensiktsmessige verktøy i designprosessen
• har kunnskap om ulike materialer og om potensialet og kvalitetene som ligger i materialene i en produksjonssammenheng
• kjenner til teori og prinsipper for bærekraftig design og kan anvende denne
• kjenner til teori og praksis rundt merkevarebygging og kan anvende denne
• har kulturell og adaptiv kunnskap

Ferdigheter

Studenten:

• kan anvende ulike metoder, verktøy (manuelle og digitale) og maskiner i kreative prosesser
• kan anvende kreativitet og nytenkning innenfor eget fagområde ved bevisst bruk av estetiske virkemidler og materialisering av konsept
• kan anvende teori som en del av designprosessen
• dokumentere sitt arbeid (2D og 3D) slik at det kommuniserer
• behersker å kommunisere og samarbeide med andre profesjonsutøvere både tverrfaglig og innen egen yrkesgruppe
• behersker prosjektledelse
• behersker kulturell og sosial fleksibilitet i møte med andre kulturer - så vel lokale og globale som etniske

Generell kompetanse

Studenten:

• har forståelse for sammenhengen mellom profesjon, næringsliv og samfunn (designerrollen) gjennom å:

  • beherske designprosessen
  • kan anvende ulike brukerperspektiver i analyse og utvikling av design
  • kan anvende metoder, forskningsresultater og teorier
• behersker innhenting og bruk av aktuelle kilder, litteratur og annen informasjon, herunder grunnleggende referansebruk
• har forståelse for gjenstandskultur og produkters totale livssyklus
• har forståelse for verdibasert tilnærming til produktdesign
• har forståelse for samfunnets behov for bærekraftig design

The programme is a profession-oriented three-year education, and candidates who complete and pass the programme are awarded the degree Bachelor of Product Design. The programme has a scope of 180 credits, meaning that students take 60 credits in each of the three years. All the courses are compulsory. Each course concludes with a final assessment.

Although the bachelor’s programme is generally taught in Norwegian, it is a precondition that the students have good English skills. There will be lectures and literature in English already in the first year. In the fourth semester, which is the international semester, teaching will be conducted almost solely in English. In the fifth semester, which is facilitated for student exchanges, a large part of the teaching and syllabus will be in English.

Theory and practice

The programme is designed to include close interaction between theory, application and workshop-based practice. It has a successive structure, where students gain broader and deeper expertise to take on product design assignments throughout the programme.

The programme’s content helps students to acquire knowledge that contributes to an understanding and development of multicultural competence, respect and tolerance. See the course descriptions for more detailed information about the content of the various courses.

The department’s focus on material-oriented product design is reflected in the organisation of activities, with specialised workshops for work with:

• Wood
• Metal
• Textiles
• Ceramics
• Concrete
• Plastic

The programme consists of practical and theoretical elements that are introduced in the different courses, with progress throughout the programme. There are therefore special requirements for study progress. Students are offered supervision in the workshops in the second and third years of the programme.

Cooperation across year groups

The students will participate in several workshops throughout the course where there will be interaction across the year groups. This includes joint lectures.Each year, the three classes will complete a four-week project where they carry out a group project in cooperation with external parties.

Progress in the programme

First year of the programme:Basic design skills

• Design process
• Understanding of materials
• Processing techniques
• 2D and 3D drawing (manually and digitally)
• Aesthetics
• Understanding of form

Second year of the programme: Methodology and user orientation

• Functionality and user participation
• Aesthetics
• Communication
• International competence
• Cultural understanding

Third year of the programme: Project management and specialisation

• Innovation
• Positioning
• Project management
• Critical reflection
• Individual specialisation

Meeting students from different cultures can result in added know-how for later professional practice in our multicultural society. By actively including cultural knowledge in the programme, the students are prepared for the new reality – that globalisation of the labour market makes international experience, language skills and cultural knowledge and change competence increasingly important.

The department has an active exchange practice and facilitates internationalisation in that:

• students can take part of their bachelor’s degree studies at one of the department’s partner institutions abroad
• incoming exchange students can take part of their education at the department
• the fourth semester is an international semester where teaching and literature are primarily in English
• the fifth semester is adapted to student exchanges by both teaching and literature being mostly in English
• internationalisation at home is emphasised through e.g. integration of foreign exchange students in class
• cultural knowledge is an important part of the teaching.

Exchange procedures

The university has an international section that works on student exchanges. See OsloMet’s website. The department is responsible for granting students advance approval before they visit an institution abroad.

For an up-to-date overview of partnership agreements, see OsloMet’s website.

Required coursework means compulsory work that must be approved in order for students to take the exam. Required coursework is assessed as approved/not approved. Coursework requirements in this programme include:

• participation in compulsory teaching activities
• certification in machinery use and HSE
• practical assignments
• completed exercises
• written assignments for submission
• exhibitions
• oral presentations
• approved project description

Not approved coursework

Valid absence documented by e.g. a medical certificate does not exempt students from meeting the coursework requirements. Students who fail to complete required coursework within the deadline due to illness or for other documented valid reasons should as far as possible be given a new chance before the exam. This must be agreed with the lecturer in question on a case-to-case basis. If another attempt at meeting a coursework requirement is not possible because of the nature of the subject/course, the student must be prepared to meet the coursework requirements on the next possible occasion. This may result in delayed progress in the programme.

The examination provisions are specified in the Act relating to Universities and University Colleges and the Regulations relating to Studies and Examinations at OsloMet.

Oral and practical exams are assessed by two examiners, as these forms of assessment cannot be appealed. Formal errors can nonetheless be appealed. All courses above 15 ECTS must have two examiners.

Exams that are assessed by internal examiners only are regularly selected for external assessment.

The grades pass/fail or a grade scale with grades from A to E for pass and F for fail are used for exam assessment.

Study progress

See the individual course descriptions for prior knowledge requirements. Students must have passed all other courses in the programme before they can submit their bachelor’s thesis.

Bachelor’s thesis

In BAPD3910, students complete and document a design project where they take responsibility for their own choices and use all the expertise they have acquired throughout the programme. They must show further development, that they master the design process and demonstrate their level of competence as product designers.