The multidisciplinary minor modules are cross-disciplinary programmes planned and organised in partnership between the universities in the Helsinki region. The University of Art and Design Helsinki has a special role as an active partner in this cooperation.

The following programmes are available for the students of TaiK regardless of one`s degree programme:

Creative Sustainability 
International Design Business Management (IDBM)
Helsinki School of Creative Entrepreneurship (HSCE)
Usability School
Multidisciplinary Art and Craft Module

 
Creative Sustainability
Creative Sustainability is a new cross-disciplinary Master’s minor study programme on sustainable design, at Aalto University. The programme is for students from the fields of architecture, urban and landscape planning, technology, business and systemic design. The programme utilises latest scientific knowledge related to sustainability, design and corporate responsibility.

Urban and industrial design are key issues in building a more sustainable future. There is a growing global need for architects, engineers, designers and business managers, who are specialized in sustainable design and are able to turn the challenges of sustainability into resources of innovations.

The Creative Sustainability minor study programme offers students abilities to work in management positions in challenging sustainability-related industry and urban planning. The programme is based on cross-disciplinary interaction; perception and management of wide and complex projects and a real-case approach. In other words, projects with actual problematics of the corporate and public sector.

The Creative Sustainability minor studies consist of lectures, seminars, learning diary and case study. The programme language is English and it runs for one academic year. Thematic areas of the proramme are Sustainable landscape planning, Sustainable urban planning, Functional design for sustainable innovation and Sustainable business development. The case studies offer design and planning projects in co-operation with industry, cities, municipalities and other organizations around the globe. The case studies are done in multidisciplinary teams.

Further information: www.creativesustainability.info

International Design Business Management (IDBM)
The IDBM programme is a shared tuition and research programme of the Helsinki School of Economics, the University of Art and Design Helsinki and the Helsinki University of Technology, whose aim is to bring experts from different sectors together already during their studies. The programme trains experts for key positions in international business. It emphasises the importance of design as a competitive factor comparable for example to technology.

Students of the IDBM programme complete a total of 24 ECTS credits in courses at their own university and the other two universities. The courses are generally normal courses offered by the universities, so students can become familiar with studying in different fields, thus expanding their perspectives.

A major part of the programme consists of a project completed on commission for industry. In the project, which runs for one academic year, a cross-disciplinary group of at least three students solves the customer’s problems related to marketing, product development, logistics and/or design.

Read more: http://project.hkkk.fi/idbm/.
Contact persons at TaiK: Amanuensis Aila Laakso, Professor Peter McGrory

 
Helsinki School of Creative Entrepreneurship (HSCE)
The objectives of this year-long course are to provide students with the tools and skills necessary to be an entrepreneur, to broaden their perspectives by working in interdisciplinary teams with students drawn from the Helsinki University of Technology, the University of Art and Design Helsinki and the Helsinki School of Economics, and to strengthen these skills through entrepreneurial practice.

By combining design, business and technology disciplines, HSCE stimulates creativity in providing an innovation platform to test out new ideas and approaches. HSCE also bridges the gap for transforming world-class research into high growth-potential commercialisation platforms.

Experts in business deliver content through a series of lectures, workshops and seminars focused on the following areas: creative teamwork, design, project planning and data discovery, due diligence, entrepreneurship training, legal issues, sales training, technology-based venture strategy, raising finance, writing business plans, and presentation skills.

Multidisciplinary student teams have the opportunity to apply the knowledge and skills they learn on the course to develop a plan to transform a project with commercial potential into a start-up with growth potential. Teams are also provided with a market research budget that can be accessed with the consent of their project board.

Second-year Master’s degree students are eligible to apply to this HSCE module. Annually the number of students from each of the three institutions varies from five to eight.

Read more: http://www.hsce.fi.
Contact person at TaiK: Professor Raimo Nikkanen

 
Usability School
The Usability School is a module produced jointly by the Helsinki University of Technology (information technology), the University of Helsinki (cognitive science) and the University of Art and Design Helsinki (industrial design), with the aim of offering students the opportunity of acquiring expert competence and eligibility for postgraduate studies in the areas of intelligent products, image-based user interfaces and usability.

The Usability School is recommended for students interested in designing digital products and system interfaces. It also provides skills in human-oriented design, which is applicable to any design field from new technology to traditional products and environments. At the core of human-oriented design is the idea of allowing interaction between designers and the future users of a product throughout the design process.

The Usability School offers approximately 20-30 ECTS credits in studies focused on usability, composed of courses offered by the three universities.

Further information from amanuensis Aila Laakso, This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it .

 
Multidisciplinary Art and Craft Module
This module is organised jointly by the University of Helsinki and the University of Art and Design Helsinki. Tuition is offered by the School of Visual Culture and the degree programmes in Textile Art and Design and Fashion and Clothing Design at TaiK, and by the Institute for Art Research and the Department of Home Economics and Craft Science at the University of Helsinki.

The objective is to offer students the opportunity to expand their knowledge with different perspectives that are related to their fields, and to bring together themes from scientific theory with personal expression skills. Together with staff from the courses, students plan a theme for the module and implement it in individual ways through project work.

The module is meant as a minor subject for students of the two universities who have completed basic studies in their major subjects. Students can also choose individual courses from the module. Students from the two partner universities who wish to complete the whole module will take priority.

The module consists of courses offered by different departments, as well as courses arranged specifically for this module. Students must present the coordinator with a plan of how they intend to build a module out of the courses on offer.

Further information from amanuensis Iina Ekholm, This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it .