As students are learning the fundamentals of their subject with the core knowledge, skills and attributes, a live project enables them to put their learning into practice. They learn by doing, simulating an environment similar to one they may encounter in industry. Whilst it isn’t a direct replica of industry experience it is an extremely beneficial and successful way in boosting confidence, problem-solving and risk-taking leading to a stronger professional confidence and increased human capital. They experience collaborative and participatory practises and gain valuable enterprise and employability skills.
In what areas could our students contribute?
- Marketing visuals & campaign collateral for commercial businesses, social enterprises and charities, community groups.
- Campaign graphic design
- Data visualisation
- Website design
- Content creation
- Blog writing
- Research
- Short video assets for use in promotional activities, training and presentations.
- Animated digital assets and infographics
- Brand logo design
- Commercial photography for promotion
- Photography for charitable organisations & community groups
- Music composition for film & television
- Event organisation & management – festivals
- Creative workshop facilitation & delivery
- Commissioned artworks – all media
- Set design and production
- Sound production & post production editing
- Film making – documentary
- Curation
- Idea Generation & Design Thinking
- VR and AR Projects and artworks
Why should a business or organisation be involved?
Working with an external business ensures a project has a direct purpose and impact beyond the Learning Studio. This aspect of a live project is important. Businesses often need to expand their ideas, test out Innovations and see their business through different lenses. It is often the reflective learning the business themselves take from the live project that can have the greatest impact. business owners and leaders who are open to ideas and proposals from other sources such as arts students are who universities are looking to work with. Those employers who accept change, thrive on new ideas and are looking to expand their thinking are who can gain the most from a live Project.
What is a key success Factor of a live Project?
A clear and well communicated brief is key to the success of a project. Too many if, buts and maybes lead to a mixed response and possible disappointment. Being available to answer questions, be interviewed and provide feedback will also lead to a more successful outcome for all parties. The business needs to invest time and energy to a live project if they are to gain insightful outcomes.
Can live projects run at any time of year?
The simple answer is no, not really if you want it to be successful. for Live projects to be part of a students learning journey it is important to frame it around knowledge and skills they are learning throughout their modules. These only happen at certain times of the year. We do run challenge weeks during July but these are 5-day challenges that businesses propose to students who are working in interdisciplinary teams and are an extracurricular activity. A live project within a program would be best run within the teaching weeks. The best weeks for Live Projects at Oxford Brookes are October to November/December and February to March/April.
What if I have an opportunity at another time during the year?
If you have any other opportunities at any other times during the year then always get in touch and we will see if we can convene a student team to work with you. We will always endeavour to facilitate your request and work with you on the best solution to your challenge. This may be working with academics and students together or could be working with our Enterprise support team. Students are also always looking for internships and work experience so it could be that a student comes to work with you for a short period of time where they will gain valuable skills and experience.
The School of Arts is developing an enterprise residency placement year where students will be working on the development of their own business as well as operating as a self-employed freelancer to explore the experience of working independently but with the support of an enterprise mentor and Academic mentor. It could be your project can be facilitated by a team of students on their residency depending on what you need and who we have available.
So what do I need to do to get started with a live Project?
You need to have a clear idea of what it is you are looking for. What is the aim of the project? What is the problem the students will be trying to solve or what innovations are you seeking from the project? A brief that is too vague will be difficult to facilitate during the time available. We must remember that the students will also have their studies alongside the project and so expectations need to be clear. We have a brief template that you can look at to get some ideas of what questions we ask when pitching the live project ideas. And we also have our showcase page which shows you different projects the programmes have been a part of to give you some idea of our experience.
Who should I speak to about a Live Project?
You will need to speak to Lucy Turner to get an initial conversation going about what you might need and you would like to work with. You can email brookescreative@brookes.ac.uk. Lucy has worked at Brookes for many years and knows people across the university and will always find a solution. She is also very tuned in to what is happening in the School of Arts and will discuss with the different programme teams how projects can fit within curriculum.
Is there any money involved in this kind of collaboration?
Money is not necessarily a major factor within the live project scenario but it does depend on what your expectations are of the outcomes of the project. We will never see our students exploited for commercial financial gain and so if your project will lead to a significant increase in your revenue then we will negotiate with you how students can be rewarded for their involvement. This might be through providing them with a short internship or work experience, maybe you will award a prize to the winners or perhaps you would like to donate funds to a charity on their behalf. Some projects could turn out to be difficult without financial backing if it is a large endeavour with high costs of resources. But whatever the project, all those negotiations can happen prior to the launch so no one is left surprised.