Design Academy Eindhoven is very interested in cooperating with the industry, the business community, authorities and social institutions. This ambition led to the birth of a special cooperation program, called ‘Friends of the academy’. A Friendship allows an organization to engage in research projects with our students in a realistic context.

During five months, various groups of students focus all of their attention on designing processes and the development of products and services for a certain Friend. The students analyze how the brand is experienced and what future trends in this field may be. They also do experiments, using different forms and testing the functionality of the products and services. Building on the results of those experiments, they will present their own, original vision, a concept and a design.

Design Academy Eindhoven owes thanks to its Friends. We have noticed that this practical experience gives our students more insight into their choice of progression and further development as a designer. The projects deepen their knowledge of social and economical aspects of their work, the qualities of cooperation with experienced experts and the need to exchange knowledge. The Friendships offer the academy community numerous essential chances and possibilities. The projects often lead to interesting results, which the Friends themselves find equally inspiring.