School: Design Academy Eindhoven
Location: Eindhoven, Netherlands
Undergraduate program: Bachelor of Design
Graduate program: Master of Arts
Number of students: N/A
Number of faculty: N/A
Notable alumni: Maarten Baas, Dror Benshetrit, Tord Boontje, Hella Jongerius, Marcel Wanders
Website: www.designacademy.nl
Strengths: “Eindhoven stands above the rest for its dedication to continual experimentation,” says Deyan Sudjic, director of The Design Museum in London
The overview: Much-vaunted Eindhoven takes a classically Dutch approach to learning, espousing freedom as the path to creativity. The program is thought of as a broad “platform for development,” with neophyte designers encouraged “to be curious, to experiment, to discuss, to criticize and to explore.” To foster creative collaborations and professional experimentation, courses are built around “domains of human activity” with focuses like space or identity, allowing for out-of-the-box blending of conventional disciplines, fields and production methods. This process, they say, gives students “new ways to perceive … and design alternative approaches to existing problems.” (Despite the liberal methodology, the program sees steep attrition; up to 25 per cent of freshmen are not invited back for second year.) Mounted to coincide with Dutch Design Week, the school’s annual graduation show tyically has an attendance over 45,000. All classes are taught in English.