A mixed picture has emerged of the kind of business skills being taught at design schools, according to Design Council research, and the schools acknowledge more needs to be done to equip students for the world of work.
The survey of 78 design schools and 50 business schools also indicated that business courses are recognising the role of creativity, but specific design skills are not being widely taught.
The design colleges were asked whether business skills are important. While 27% said they are all essential and a further 27% felt that some were important, 35% said they weren't relevant at all and 12% were unsure.
But it does seem that at least some of these business skills, which include entrepreneurship, project management, marketing and client handling, are entrenched within many design courses. More than eight out of ten design schools said business skills were taught as part of a core module, and two thirds said they were part of other modules. Interestingly, 63% said they ran a placement scheme to teach business skills.
'Many [students] will be starting up their own businesses, but even those who don't go into business for themselves will need business skills. Employers just expect it'
Design schools agreed more needs to be done to teach business skills. While nearly four out of ten said the content of their courses would remain the same, 62% said they would include more business skills in the next three years and all but six percent said they would like to know more about how to teach business skills.
'[Our courses] are going to be much more business-focused. Designers are going to have to develop entrepreneurial skills'
The story is mixed when it comes to the teaching of design skills within business courses. While 56% of business schools said some design skills are useful,18% said they were unsure which design skills should be taught and only 22% said design is an essential business tool.
When the individual skills are broken down, the picture becomes clearer. Creative techniques such as idea generation and brainstorming are taught by 86%, while 76% teach design as part of developing a brand and 78% acknowledge design's role in product development. But skills that might equip business people to deal with designers, such as writing a brief, managing designers and knowledge of the design industry are only taught by 30%, 24% and 22% respectively.
'This is a creative generation so, as far as employers are concerned, [design skills] have become a necessity for graduates'
But there is enthusiasm for the teaching of design skills. While only 46% of business schools said they would be teaching more design skills in the next three years, 86% said they would like to know more about how to teach them.