role: Special Projects Coordinator, 2018-2021
The Program
Design4 is a program developed by OCAD University's RBC Centre for Emerging Artists & Designers (RBC CEAD) and the Faculty of Design. This unique experiential learning opportunity for students connects them with employment partners to work in interdisciplinary teams on meaningful design challenges.
The Problem
OCAD University students from the Faculty of Design wanted hands-on experience in their fields. Noticing a gap of Black, Indigenous and People of Colour in creative industries in Toronto, our goal was to focus on representation both with selected students, faculty and with the partners they would be working with. The Black Youth Design Initiative was developed by Dean Dori Tunstall, Dean of the Faculty of Design and the Faculty of Design within the context of Design4.
Quotes
"The [students] provided tremendous value. The temporary headcount gave us headroom to be able to explore experimental projects amongst other resource-hungry client-facing projects.
The diversity of their backgrounds provided supplementary perspectives and inputs to our creative processes, The additional personnel allowed us to experiment with new management models in our otherwise "flat" hierarchy, providing growth opportunities to intermediate-level staff in a relatively risk-free context."
– Art & Science
Results
- A high number of students reporting that Design4 directly resulted in them finding employment in their fields
- Surpassing our initial target to recruit up to 36 students. We recruited more than 54 students in the first year.
- Surpassing anticipated external partner engagement of working with 12 organizations (SME, Non-Profit, Start-Up, Arts & Culture). We worked with over 19 partners in the first year.