The Glasgow School of Art hosted a delegation this week from Baden-Württemberg (a state in southwest Germany bordering France and Switzerland) which included Members of Parliament, political administrators, scientists, policy officers, university representatives, and press from both Baden-Württemberg and Glasgow. Prof. Penny Macbeth, Director of The Glasgow School of Art, welcomed the delegation, including meeting Graeme Dey MSP, Minister for Higher and Further Education Scotland and Petra Olschowski, Minister of Science, Research and Arts of the State of Baden-Württemberg, at an evening reception in Windows on Heritage within the Reid Building on Tuesday 29th of October.
The evening reception was followed on Wednesday 30th October by the signing of a Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) between The Glasgow School of Art and Hochschule der Medien (The Stuttgart Media University), signed by Prof. Rachel Dickson, Deputy Director of The Glasgow School of Art and Prof. Dr. Alexander W. Roos, Rector of Hochschule der Medien. The delegation were welcomed by Prof. Gordon Hush, Head of the School of Innovation and Technology, and given a presentation on the work and practices of the Mackintosh Environmental Architecture Research Unit (MEARU) by Virginia Rammou, Senior Lecturer of Architectural Technology.
Following the signing of the MoA the delegation were given a tour of Reid Building studios and facilities, highlighting sustainable practices and key areas such as Case Room, Centre for Advanced Textiles and technical workshops.
“We are delighted to sign this Memorandum of Agreement with Hochschule der Medien which offers our German colleagues a place on our Masters of Research by Practice with an articulation route to PhD here at The GSA,” says Prof. Penny Macbeth, Director of The Glasgow School of Art.
“This agreement will facilitate the exchange of knowledge and expertise between our two institutions, and will encourage future social and technological innovations in the areas of health, climate neutrality and ecological sustainability which transcend the traditional disciplinary boundaries within the arts and science”.
This new MoA agreement offers an opportunity for The Glasgow School of Art to transform the current model of creative education by developing a new and distinctive approach to Post Graduate Research, firstly at Masters of Research level, and then developing a “Global PhD” model, in collaboration with international research partners. This innovative research partnership will promote the development of new models of academic and practice based research, promote cultural diversity and build a global cohort of researchers and practitioners. It will also further enhance the GSA’s reputation as a global provider of research training and contributor to contemporary debates regarding current and future academic practice. This exciting partnership will allow the expansion of research partnerships and collaboration opportunities with Stuttgart Media University to seek joint funding for projects, as well as student and teaching exchange visits over coming years.
The ambition of the programme is aligned to the GSA Strategic Plan 2022-2027 through ‘a rich partnership approach to education, research and innovation’ within an international and global context.
For further information please contact press@gsa.ac.uk
Notes for Editors
The Glasgow School of Art
The Glasgow School of Art (GSA) is internationally recognised as one of Europe’s leading independent university-level institutions for education and research in the visual creative disciplines. Our studio-based, specialist, practice-led teaching, learning and research draw talented individuals with a shared passion for visual culture and creative production from all over the world.
Originally founded in 1845 as one of the first Government Schools of Design, the School’s history can be traced back to 1753 and the establishment of the Foulis Academy delivering a European-style art education. Today, the GSA is an international community of over 3500 students and staff across architecture, design, digital, fine art and innovation in our campuses in Glasgow and Altyre (in the Scottish Highlands) and a thriving Open Studio programme delivering non-degree provision to over 1500 students annually.
Hochschule der Medien
Hochschule der Medien is a public university (funded by the state of Baden-Württemberg) which teaches media specialists. Since September 1st, 2001, Hochschule der Medien has brought together the combined know-how of the former Fachhochschule für Druck und Medien (HDM) – a traditional educational institution for printing and media-technologies, and Hochschule für Bibliotheks- und Informationswesen (HBI).
Hochschule der Medien covers a broad spectrum of media expertise: from printed media to electronic media, from design to business administration, from library science to advertising, from content for media to packaging technology, from computer science to information science to publishing and electronic media.
About 30 accredited Bachelor’s and Master’s degree programmes mirror this diversity. At the moment, about 5500 students are enrolled at the university.
