The Higher Education Review

With its rich history and culture, France has been home to some of the greatest artists in the world. Being at the forefront of everything contemporary, France has always lured the creative ones. While Art and Design have the ability to change the way we conceive our surroundings and the world we live in, it is said, 'You can design and create, and build the most wonderful place in the world. But it takes people to make the dream a reality'. Based on the French Riviera in the South of France, The Sustainable Design School is an institute set up after understanding the potential that the profession of Design holds in directly impacting the future of our society and planet.

"A place where different cultures and people of diverse origins cross their ways and give birth to a broader approach of design, the sustainable design school constantly practices developing openness and sensitivity together with awareness and responsibility among its students"

"The realization that design is about using creativity to generate and bring forth new possible futures catapulted the college towards international recognition. This unique approach also helped The Sustainable Design School to act upon issues that far surpasses the traditional domains of design. Keeping up with our objectives, we educate our students with the vision to develop design students that become agents of change for a sustainable society that holds the values of humanism and empathy foremost", speaks Grant Linscott, Academic Director, The Sustainable Design School.

Thriving on Creativity and Diversity
A place where different cultures and people of diverse origins cross their ways and give birth to a broader approach of design, The Sustainable Design School constantly practices developing openness and sensitivity together with awareness and responsibility among its students. While change is not only necessary but inevitable to thrive in the transforming circumstances, the institute copes up with this by offering programs which are transversal, international and multidisciplinary. Currently, The Sustainable Design School offers undergraduate and postgraduate programs, a recently developed dual diploma: MSc Entrepreneurship and Sustainable Design in partnership with SKEMA business school, and a Ph.D. program that explores the relationship between identity, creativity and sustainable innovation; mainly with the creative industries, and how these relationships may

impact innovation processes and outputs.

"Our programs are not focused specifically on either product design, systems, services, interiors, graphics, fashion or any other 'classical' design education. At The Sustainable Design School, we educate how to approach innovation with the human being at the centre of reflexion and consideration. While it is accepted that design can be taught with a 'Learning by Doing' framework, at The Sustainable Design School, we also focus upon 'Learning by Being'. Our courses mix theory and practice of design with modules that are constructed to purely consider the personal development of our students. With this in mind, our school has an intimate culture that allows for a secure space for the exchange of knowledge between professors and students. Also, our courses are currently mandatory across all programs, this ensures that the year-upon-year development of a student is closely controlled", shares Grant Linscott.

"The sustainable design school educates its students with the vision to develop design students that become agents of change for a sustainable society that holds the values of humanism and empathy"

Today, the programs offered by The Sustainable Design School are not only unique in terms of student development but the institute is also conscious about the need for its graduates to be able to apply themselves in the real world of business and design. To be able to accomplish this, one of the founding strategies of the institute is to ensure that its students experience real projects with real clients. The Sustainable Design School also runs partnership courses with large established international companies that engage with its students for a complete semester on a chosen design project. This means that the institute has graduates that have already worked with BMW, Mahindra, Michelin, Orange, Yamaha, Decathlon, L'Oréal, and Hermès to name a few.

Supporting Students at all Times
The French lifestyle can be very different when compared with most of the other countries, yet this doesn't limit the number of international students flying every year to France to pursue higher education. The Sustainable Design School has an international group of staff and professors with their courses (and administration assistance) being conducted in English. Coming from different and complementary fields, the teaching staff is not just international but is also passionate and enthusiastic about giving their time to transmit their expertise to students, helping them reveal their creative talents and develop a responsible global vision. The institute also has an International Academic Relationships Director who closely follows any international student to ensure that they are integrated and

supported throughout their time in France so that they can get the most out of their stay. "We understand that the essence of a school is not in a program nor in a particular project, it is in the quality and skill of the professors to engage, motivate and guide the students. To this end, we ensure that we coach and guide the students as individuals as well as a collective group towards pursuing success, both with their personal and professional development", adds Grant Linscott. To ensure that the students are not be deprived of a quality higher education because of their financial background, The Sustainable Design School also offers students with various financial arrangements, including affordable housing options at Nice.

Using their strong industry connections, The Sustainable Design School has ensured strong placement opportunities for its students across various industries. Extra training is given to students for preparing their portfolio, cover letter and CV so that they can market themselves in the best way in front of prospective employers. Aiming to broaden their students' horizons through one-off teaching methodologies, The Sustainable Design School also operates to show to the world the power of design and how it can have a positive impact on the world. The institute has seen steady growth since its inception and having just recently moved into larger, more suited premises has given The Sustainable Design School the space to evolve further.

Signing off the interaction, Grant Linscott says, "Design has become a strategic method to develop an added value for companies, and even more when it comes to sustainable solutions. As the name suggests, we at The Sustainable Design School are dedicated to sustainable design and innovation for human solutions. At present, The Sustainable Design School is committed to 17Sustainable Development Goals as creativity tools for the world of tomorrow and we are continuously striving to engage with the new generation of creative, curious students who are concerned about the world."

Grant Linscott, Academic Director
Grant Linscott is currently the Academic Director of The Sustainable Design School following his work as a researcher, educator and consultant in the fields of Design Thinking, Design Strategy and Business Innovation. He has over 25 years experience in the field of Industrial Design, Product/ServiceDevelopment and Design Management, working within consultancy and manufacturing environments worldwide, and during the last 15 years, he has developed and taught international courses that parallel his research interests into the Ontology of the Designer and the impact of Design Thinking programs on Organisational Behaviour for business transformation.