The Zollverein School aims for interaction

In the past, management and design were always taught separately. The Zollverein School, on the other hand, aims for interaction and, for the first time ever, combines both disciplines in one course of study. A recent international study comparing teaching and research institutes around the world commissioned by the Japan Industrial Design Promotion Organization (JIDPO) came to the conclusion that the Zollverein School is the only place where management and design are being combined in such a consistent manner.

'It is not about rejecting traditional methods wholesale, but about improving them,' explains Prof. Dr. Ralph Bruder, founding director and head of the school. 'As far as we are concerned, both disciplines belong in a single degree course because design is gaining in importance for business: design affects the economy and the economy affects design processes. Both can learn a lot from each other.'

Practical orientation
The Zollverein School considers design to be a corporate tool that allows companies to survive the global competition on deregulated markets, especially because classical methods of marketing, for example, have reached their limits. Implementation is, however, a huge challenge for companies. Design as a strategic corporate goal and the significance of the design process from product development to communication at the interface with the public requires new internal organisational structures and additional expertise: the managers that will be responsible for product development and innovation in the future must have both design and management skills. The Zollverein School is preparing both creative minds and managerial types for these challenges with its practical, interdisciplinary courses and seminars. At the end of the course, graduates will be in a position to plan innovation processes and transform them into concrete business models.

Target groups
The Master's degree course and doctoral programmes are aimed at professionals with managerial ambitions from the fields of communication, marketing, strategy, and product development. The seminars and lectures target a broader public: everyone from entrepreneurs to students.

Courses of study
The Zollverein School offers full- and part-time postgraduate Master's degree courses. The first course, which kicks off in mid February 2005, leads to a Master of Business Administration degree. The academic degree (MBA) will be awarded to graduates (by co-operating state-approved universities.) in ko-operation with the University of Duisburg-Essen.
The second group of students to take this course will begin its studies in March 2006.

The 20-month degree course is aimed at managers working in the creative sector who are faced with economic issues and managers working in the worlds of business, science, culture, and politics who have to make design-related decisions. Top international names will teach students practical methodological basics and skills in both disciplines.

Seminars
Regular one-day and several-day seminars given by renowned speakers from the world of business will target self-employed people who have founded large and small companies, those who have just established start-ups, and students who want to set themselves up in business. With its programme of seminars, the Zollverein School sees itself as a coach for creative people who would like to make their everyday working lives more professional.

Four-day crash courses, so-called 'Base Camps', are aimed primarily at managers working in the creative sector and managers in companies. The purpose of these Base Camps is to provide participants with a knowledge of both disciplines. The Base Camp can also be completed as an introduction to the MBA course.

Doctoral programmes
In co-operation with the universities of Duisburg-Essen and Wuppertal and other institutes of education, the Zollverein School offers special doctoral programmes in the field of design science.

Guest lecturers
Practical lectures by guest speakers (managers, media designers, computer experts, film-makers, philosophers, or scientists) round off the programme.