‘Insights from the Field’ is a programme of lectures, workshops and activities designed to provide our third year students with first-hand accounts of the world they are about to enter. In the coming months we have organised a series of exciting events that are specifically designed build their professional awareness in preparation for graduation.
Here is a brief rundown of what we have planned (all sessions take place on Wednesdays):
The programme kicks off, on the 1st February, with a lecture by Laura Jordan Bambach from leading independent creative agency Mr President.
We have organised 3 Alumni days that bring our students together with recent graduates now working in the creative industries to share tips, experiences and advice. On the 8th, 15th and 22nd February, we will welcome back recent graduates who have been employed by studios such as: Delivered by Post, Ico, Mother, Designstudio, Wednesday, Kin and ustwo.
Then the following week (on the 1st March) we will be getting on the train to Waterloo to visit some of London’s leading creative studios. In the past we have visited the likes of Bibliothéque, Someone, Moving Brands, Jelly, Heart, Sennep and Kin
On the 8th March, Derek Yates and Illustration pathway leader, Sarah Langford will give a lecture detailing guidance on self promotion and preparing a professional portfolio.
On 15th March, Steve Lloyd from digital agency Ico Ex, will run a workshop introducing a card game that his studio have developed as a fun way to match different types of content to an appropriate communication channel.
Then on the 3rd, 10th and 17th of May we will invite some of our friends from the UK’s leading creative agencies to provide 1:1 portfolio surgeries for our third years. In the past agents from Debut Art & Heart and designers from Accept & Proceed, Moving Brands and C&Co chaired these surgeries, so our students can expect professional advice of the highest calibre.
New events and activities are being added to this programme all of the time – so keep an eye on our Twitter and Instagram feeds for the latest information.
Hopefully, from all of this you can see that we work extremely hard to ensure that our students are fully prepared to enter the world of work after graduation. Recent graduate, now creative designer at Birchbox, Jess Shaw, describes our approach in this quotation.
“WSA goes to great lengths to prepare students for entering employment and for life after university. In addition to regular industry talks held each week (followed by a workshop led by the visiting practitioner) and visiting lecturers, there are a number of external studio visits over the three years, expanding both nationally and internationally. These provide an exceptional insight into studio practice and culture and how the industry works outside of a university environment, a really valuable experience for a student. As well as this, WSA goes that one step further and gives students the opportunity to have one-to-one portfolio reviews and critiques with industry professionals, as well as interview preparation sessions. Through utilising all of these opportunities, I’m not sure how else I could have been more prepared!”