Global Innovation Design (GID) Program: A Trans-national Master's Program

“Global Innovation Design (GID) Program”

The Graduate School of Media Design, Keio University (KMD), will begin accepting applications shortly.

(This program is currently under development, and the details will be announced on the KMD website at a later date.)

GID mission statement: To educate creative catalysts and leaders who will design new possibilities in the world through the synthesis of multinational perspectives and approaches.

The Graduate School of Media Design, Keio University (KMD) is currently developing the “Global Innovation Design (GID) Program”, a pathway which enables students on the KMD Master’s degree to undertake placements at Pratt Institute (New York/USA, hereafter referred to as “Pratt”) and the Royal College of Art and Imperial College London (London/UK, hereafter referred to as “RCA/Imperial”) as part of their degree.

The global-scale structural shift from a knowledge society to a creative society engenders demand for people who are able to identify social needs from international perspectives and to bring about innovation to society through extraordinary creativity. Under such circumstances, an innovative approach called “Design Thinking”, which applies the ideas and insights developed in the field of design, has attracted widespread attention. More and more people with such practical creativity are starting to emerge in society, for example, as Chief Creative Officers (CCO) who create design innovation-led business strategies. We are happy to announce that the “GID program” is now under development with the aim to develop such leaders in collaboration with the top design schools in the world–Pratt and RCA/Imperial.

Upon approval by the appropriate authorities, the program is set out to start in September 2013. KMD students who participate in the GID program as part of the KMD Master’s program will be able to take part in an unparalleled, topnotch curriculum in the area of innovation design which combines the distinctive educational approaches of the four institutions. This will be a transnational program which enables KMD students to undertake placements, each of one semester, at Pratt and RCA/Imperial, in an international educational environment in which students are exposed to diverse cultural and business experiences. Students are expected to acquire the practical skills necessary to become “Global Innovation Design Leaders” who can bring innovation to society based on creative thinking approaches such as design thinking, design engineering, and service design. We aim to accept students with diverse backgrounds and to develop leaders who can contribute to the international community.

We welcome students who aspire to leap onto the international stage, playing an active role in shaping the creative society. Stay tuned for detailed information.