A new approach to vocational learning

Lots of interesting debates to have at the St Bride Print library conference, more details can be found, here's a couple I have my eye on :  http://stbride.org/events/criticaltensions/programme.html

Derek Yates A new approach to vocational learning

Popular perception draws a distinction between vocational and academic learning, between the practitioner and the educator, between industry and education. This view says that the sort of research that enables innovation and new ways of thinking is distinct from activity that improves employability. The term ‘vocational’ is thought to imply a short-term fix, associated with passive thinkers and technicians only able to work under instruction. A more contemporary approach sees creative thinking, innovation and employability as intrinsically linked. According to Sir George Cox, former Chair of the Design Council, ‘Creativity – the base for innovation – has never been more important. For business, it holds the key not just to success, but to survival.’

Derek calls for a re-evaluation of the relationship between creative education and the employers it serves in order to instigate research that has resonance outside the academic environment. In this talk he will investigate the potential of partnerships with the creative industries that encourage an exchange of ideas that has genuine benefits for both parties.

During the late eighties and early nineties Derek Yates was a featured artist in the Thames & Hudson book Design after dark by Cynthia Rose. Since then he has developed a career in Further and Higher Education that has been orientated toward vocational learning. Most recently he has been at the forefront of innovation in the development of work related and work-based learning at Camberwell College of Arts. Here he has brokered partnerships with commercial agencies such as Wieden & Kennedy, Moving Brands, Bibliothèque and Kin, cultural institutions like the V&A and respected journals such as Eye. Derek’s interest in learning that reaches outside the walls of Academia led to his involvement in the development of the award winning education platform ‘onedotzero_cascade’, as a co-creator with Sophie Walter. He continues to work with ‘onedotzero’ and has used what he has learnt from this partnership to instigate initiatives at Camberwell that explore cross disciplinary practice, creative collaboration and the development of contemporary employability skills. learningwithindustry.blogspot.com / www.onedotzerocascade.com

Phil Baines Thinking and making happen in the same place

This phrase was used as a slogan during protests against our college management at Central Saint Martins following their decision to move the printmaking workshops not to King’s Cross with the rest of the college, but to the Byam Shaw building at Archway. I’d like to use that phrase as a starting point and to touch on aspects of craft and practice in the 21st century and the role of design education more generally.

Phil Baines is a freelance graphic designer based in London, and Professor of Typography at Central Saint Martins.