Bachelor of Art & Technology

Introduction

The world we live in is changing radically and very rapidly, because of the speed with which technology is developing. It has become a fact of life that technology is ever-present in our society. As a result of this, information is there for the taking or even imposed upon people. Moreover, because of designers’ boundless creativity, communication means are now literally and figuratively unlimited.

Citizens in today’s society play an (inter)active role in a virtual world that they are able to influence to a certain extent. Consequently the individual’s increasing independence will lead to a spectacular increase of choices, which in its turn will result in an infinite number of designs for spreading and sharing information.

Saxion’s school of Applied Art and Technology aspires to continue educating students for management and creative jobs, in which perspective as well as looking and thinking ahead while working guarantee creative, innovative and ethical contributions to society. If you are interested in this course you need to be creative and interested in technology. You should have the ability to share knowledge, skills and opinions, bring these up for discussion and take responsibility for the content of your contribution. Your task will be to work independently and acquire competencies linked to the final attainment levels. To achieve this, the school of Applied Art and Technology pays much attention to the development of communicative and management skills, as a result of which the students will be able to share their helicopter view with colleagues, employees and customers.

Course content

First and second year

In the first two years you will create a broad base for the rest of your education. An extensive package of basic disciplines from the domains of art, technology and social science will be integrated in so-called educational clusters and projects. In the clusters you will practise your individual knowledge and skills, during the projects you will work together as a group. The course is structured thematically.

During the first two years the emphasis is on conceptual, design-technical and directional knowledge and skills. The lectures are introductory and prepare you for individual study and using a lot of reference material. From the beginning you will be supported by a student supervisor and all your products and propositions will be collected in a portfolio.

In this phase a lot of thought is put into vocational guidance by means of excursions and productions for the project desk of the school. In the first year, the emphasis is on learning the rules while in the second year you learn to break these rules creatively.

Third and fourth year

Art and Technology has seven graduation profiles. Students can graduate in one of these graduation profiles:

1. Broadcasting
2. Interactive Media
3. Installation Art
4. Media Management
5. Advertising
6. Virtual Storytelling
7. Web technology

At this stage specialization and focus on professionalism play a central role. Teamwork remains important in projects, but the emphasis lies on individual work. After the practical year you will determine what profession suits you best. Based on this you will choose a graduation profile. Your profile coach will help you write a plan to describe the content of the rest of the graduation period. Within the chosen graduation profile you can choose your own fields of expertise, depending on your professional image. During this period you will be guided by specialists.

The third year focuses on methodological investigation, specialization (orientation) and an industrial placement (internship) The fourth year consists of a minor and graduation assignment with a company. You will be able to show that you are fully capable of working in a company. You will also work on commercial projects for the project office.

Requirements

First of all you have to meet the general entry requirements. Besides that, the following applies to all students wanting to enrol in Art & Technology.

If possible, you take part in the regular application process. If this is not possible, you need to submit a CV, testimonials, a letter of motivation and an interactive portfolio (website, CD rom or DVD) to prove your previously acquired technical skills and the ability to design. By means of an assessment (by telephone or via a webcam) it will be established if your communicative skills are sufficient for admission to the course.

Career prospects

For students who graduate from Art & Technology there are a great number of job opportunities in various disciplines. You can find employment in multimedia or internet companies, but there is also a great demand from advertising companies, research institutes, audio-video companies or Communication and IT agencies. The Art & Technology programme covers a wide range of subjects and enables you to acquire both a management post that involves leading a multi-media team of specialists and to work as a producer yourself. In the near future there will be an even higher demand for A&T graduates.