Assignment

Industrial Design school, Undergraduate, Istanbul

I spoke to my friend Yaprak—who grew up and completed her undergraduate degree in Industrial Design in Istanbul, while getting her two masters degrees in Italy and the US.

In Turkey, she cited no diversity, while in Italy, there was diversity but it was not valued as an asset in an academic environment. People were grouped by background, for ease of working together.

In Turkey, there was a much more top-down hierarchy. It felt much more formal as an education, both in terms of the way students address professors and their unapproachability.

While there were some lectures, most of the design degree was studio based work. However, the studio based work wasn’t collaborative group work, but much more individualistic. Similarly, content and material was relayed from the professor in lecture format or socratic method, as opposed to group discussion.

In Turkey, there are similar expectations about going to undergrad—it being a ubiquitous degree that has lost most of its meaning. Today, graduate school is where the value is demonstrated. Many people who are able to do so go abroad to study, as coming back to Turkey with a foreign advanced degree is much more attractive to employers. That said, study abroad programs are not set up for students, so study abroad is not common.

In Turkey, there are not the same US systems and infrastructure to close the gap between education and industry—there is no career counseling, mentorship, networking, or internships publicized or set up in affiliation with the school. One might not feel prepared for work after undergrad, much like here, so some of the skills needed for employment as an Industrial Designer (like 3D and rendering) must be learned outside of school. Much of this drive—to learn relevant skills and network—has to come from within. This is partially because of the formal style of education, and the fact that curriculum can remain unchanged, delivered year over year, largely the same, rather than modifying with the times. This is partially because there are not feedback loops between student and teacher in terms of the quality of education.

Similarly, there aren’t great feedback systems in place in terms of student performance. Final output was highly prioritized, but measured as a single letter grade. Things like the thought and design process and ability to work through failures are not considered as part of the educational growth process.

The cost of undergraduate education in Turkey was free, at a state school, but the quality of education suffered as professors had to have outside jobs, which made them largely unavailable, especially after 3pm.

Things like apprenticeships and internships are probably available, but not visible, common paths to follow. Connections to industry in general are not cultivated as part of the institutional education.

For and undergraduate design degree, not a lot of reading or writing was required. This lack of rigor made it seem more vocational, than about crafting critical thought and making you a “fully formed person.” This might have to do with the subject of the degree, but a liberal arts-style core curriculum or foundational subject matter was not required.

I’m struck this week by how dysfunctional higher education is. Between the article on the ruin of Cooper Union, the article on the USC MFA class dropping out from last week, and my discussion with classmates from abroad it honestly seems like the system will be broken no matter what. I spoke with Juan Jose and Francesca, both from Peru, who described a system of public universities that are very cheap, but often on strike. Students who want to go to a good school end up attending private universities. Adi was also part of the discussion. She’s from Spain, but went to school in the UK. It was interesting to hear her contrast the Spanish system with the UK.
After all that discussion, it really made me feel better about the US system. There is a lot that can be improved, but it seems like every system of higher education is not without its own systemic problems that governments, universities, and companies are trying to solve. Everyone is grappling with issues of public v. private schools, job training v. education for self betterment, access for poor students, and scam institutions.

Interview Notes:

Juan Jose, Peru – He went to a private university, he chose that one because only one other member of his family had been to university and it was that one. In Peru people can create universities without good teachers and you get ripped off, with a worthless degree. A new trend is that CEOs and companies are make technical universities, and training people for positions within their companies. There is less of a culture of learing things that do not seem to have job utility than in the US.

Adi, UK & Spain – There is a difference between here and england,  there you can study whatever you want because it’s cheap, and it’s still a respected degree. In Spain private universities are much more expensive, but easy to get in. Public universities are cheaper, but harder to get in because there is more competition. Public schools have good reputations. There isn’t as much respect for the arts in education in Spain. Adi always had to leave Spain because there are no resources for the arts, thus the study in the UK and US.

Francesca, Peru – You know your going to a private school, you only go to a public university if you can’t afford a private one, or if you want to go to a school with a speciality. If you’re not going to specialized school you go to a private school. Usually you study five years. School is very tied to social life, status etc. School cost depends on where you went to high school. There are price tiers. Most students go to public uni which are terrible and often on strike. You know that your parents will pay, you don’t need a loan and won’t have to pay for it yourself. Good grades alone get you in, you don’t have to worry about admission as much.

General discussion:

US degree brands have a huge value abroad. A degree from a prestige US university will almost guarantee a job. This is different form prestige schools in the UK, the degree is respected but you need to be good too. People from Spain who study abroad tend to stay abroad. Often there’s no resources or support system to go back to, but because they don’t go back there’s no resources for others. Peru has a scheme that pays for school if you come back, if you teach for two years, and then stay 2 years in the country. Also, the government makes you come back as soon as your course is over. There is no visa grace time.

In peru education of any kind is still a privilege. In Spain it is expected that you will go to university, public or private.

I come from an highly educated, immigrant family (more MD, PhDs and engineers, than not). To some degree, higher education was expected, though decidedly not in a creative field. I majored in both English Lit and Film Theory in undergrad, and had brief stints in publishing, documentary, and education before starting as a consultant at a creative agency (branding and digital experience).

I started looking at grad school because I was feeling a little stagnant. I saw a future of plodding ahead at my agency, moving up gradually, but not as quickly as I wanted and without the pay to match.

Grad school was a natural thought. There seemed to be two choices in my career—business school or a master’s in the subject matter. I’ve always had more respect for colleagues who were practitioners before managers, rather than going to school FOR management. Thus, I started looking at places like ITP.

ITP was almost a snap decision. It seemed so easy—a place to explore, another couple years in NY, flexible enough to keep working part time. If I’m honest, I’m not sure I investigated well enough and so my expectations were outsized. Like Greg said, I’m still craving that one project that helps me dive deep, explore a subject matter and become an expert. Ideally, I find a way to leave this place and be an authority—or at least a budding authority—on a specific way of thinking/working/etc. Right now, I feel that most of my classes have been either survey courses or skills-based, so as to be more fun and engaging than truly relevant to my future.

Is it necessary?

In certain fields like the hard sciences, it’s necessary. But even in creative fields, especially as a consultant, there’s cultural and social currency in the workplace and with clients. It’s not critical, but a help, especially in terms of salary negotiation. Of course, there’s value in the exposure to new thinking, networking and mentorship at the graduate level, though I actually think the quality and rigor of my undergraduate education at Barnard College, Columbia University and UCL was superior to what I’m experiencing and hearing about most graduate programs in the humanities. So no, I don’t think it’s necessary, but that isn’t to say it’s not worthwhile. I still think it is.

What other ways can one obtain this knowledge?

Most of what I do day-to-day at work—branding consulting, digital strategy, content strategy—was learned on the job, so continued work experience and senior mentorship is probably the most expedient route to career advancement. There’s also other forms of education, like MOOCs from top-tier universities, subscription services like Lynda.com, and non-accredited courses and bootcamps through things like General Assembly or Hack Reactor.