Wednesday, April 1, 2009
At Hyper Island's Digital Media diploma program in Stockholm students learn to solve problems by facing them. During a four week period they have promoted themselves, a roller coaster which culminates with a slammin' party and release of the site 53colors.com. When the program is completed the students will be ready to face both the economic crisis and a media industry in constant change.
In a world of economic disturbances and bankruptcies higher demands are put on the creatives and their capabilities. We asked Patrick Gardner, founder of Perfect Fools, if he believes insights in group dynamics and conflict management will be worth more in the wake of the financial crisis.
"In a world where change just keeps accelerating, we're not sure what specific tools we'll need 10 or even 5 years from now. What we do know is there will always be a place for smart, creative, motivated team players. People who have learned how to learn and can adapt to and drive a continually changing industry. Exactly the type of person you find at Hyper Island."
Hyper Island's programs focus on a breadth of knowledge within all parts of the project life cycle. Students get to try everything from project management to design in real world projects. Emphasis is put on understanding group dynamics and the students are continually trained in conflict management. These skills are put to the test during the module Marketing and Promotion, where the students promote their class to the industry, left completely to their own devices.
”We've had our ups and downs. We are 53 people, who need to agree about our roles and cooperate on all levels, which hasn't always worked perfectly, but throughout the journey we have developed our problem solving skills,” says Sanna Wickman, who has been one of the project managers during the course.
To express these skills, Hyper Island's Digital Media students in Stockholm have chosen to promote themselves through the project 53colors.com, creativity in diversity. The concept is a direct answer to the global crisis and at the same time a challenge to the industry to dare to bet more on love and warmth. According to the students they have the best bailout package: passion bursting with color.