Creative Entrepreneurship for Material-Based Craft and Design Innovation

Establishing yourself as a creative practitioner is not easy. This course aims to provide and support you with the tools you need to accomplish future entrepreneurial goals and projects that are rooted in making. During the course you will, amongst other things, work with an assigned mentor and a supportive group of peers to discuss and reflect on each other’s work. You are encouraged to be openminded and develop new structures and ideas through creative entrepreneurship. The course starts therefore with an introduction to methodology, theory and methods of artistic and design processes that aim to lay ground for individual reflection and development of one’s own way of working.

During the course we will investigate different economic models alongside traditional production and sale in order to develop innovative ways to approach the market. “Know how”, examples of business models, and strategies are presented by actors and organizations in the field.

When entering the second half of the course, you will be assigned an individual mentor and start to develop your action plan. The group of students in the course will continue to work with innovation and their development in craft and design skills, material-based investigation for new contexts and markets. During the latter part of the course, you will begin to implement and explore the launching of your action plan.

What is it like to study
The course is given as a part time (50%) distance course with four mandatory course meetings. It is an international course that will be conducted in English. The meetings are conducted as hybrid seminars where participation can take place either onsite at Campus Steneby or via link. Campus Steneby is located by the Dalsland canal in the region of Dalsland, roughly 2 hours north of Gothenburg. For students who choose to travel to Campus Steneby you will be given the opportunity to visit the facilities, workshops and surroundings. The campus is a center for material-based craft and design educations with large workshops for wood, metal and textiles. The surroundings are rich with art and craft-based artists and communities, and the amazing nature invites to hikes and explorations.  

Teaching takes place through online lectures, seminars, workshops, and tutoring which will be both individual and group based. During the course each student will receive an assigned mentor who is a teacher at HDK-Valand Campus Steneby.

Apply in three steps

1. Apply for the course at universityadmissions.se. Deadline April 15, 2024.
2. Submit your portfolio SlideRoom. Deadline April 15, 2024.
3. Submit documentation proving you meet the entry requirements of the course on universityadmissions.se. Deadline June 20, 2024.

Portfolio
Letter of intent - describe your reason for applying to the course and how it would be beneficial for you as an artist / designer.

Project proposal - A written proposal that describes the purpose and nature of the project / business that you want to deepen and implement during the course. Describe what you want to do with the headlines;

• Background/Context
• Description
• Aims and Expected Outcomes
• Question Formulation
• Method and Approach

Your appliction must be anonymous. Please do not include your name or any personal information in your application.