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NTNU – THE FACULTY OF ARCHITECTURE AND FINE ART
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7.h. Student perspective/role
This section will reiterate many of the issues presented in
all the other sections. However, the Committee thought that
it is useful and important to draw together a picture from
the student perspective. In this section there are views that
came up in different interviews and in the student workshop.
It has to be noted that the Committee did not make any eval-
uation of the
result
of student learning or students’ design
projects.
STRENGTHS
Overall the students were very satisfied with their studies,
enthusiastic and open to discussing the School. They provid-
ed critical comments in a mature and well argued manner.
They seemed to be very committed to their studies.
Students valued the rich variety of different approaches
and course content; e.g. from 1:1 to urban scale, technical
knowledge, aesthetics and art, travelling/field trips, diversity
of projects, teamwork. Especially in the beginning of their
studies 1:1 working seemed to be of high importance to
student learning and experience.
The experience of students was summarised by one student
who observed: ‘every day is different’.
Students appreciated the possibility of working at the School
in studios where they were able to see other students work-
ing and to have discussions with their peers.
Students were happy with the contact they had with the
teaching staff. Teachers are always available, it is easy to
approach teachers and there is a daily contact with them.
Students seem to value very highly the teachers and their
aspiration to improve the School and its educational provi-
sion. Students felt that their feedback to the teachers was
heard and taken seriously. Students also felt that the teach-
ers give value to the students. We saw profound mutual ap-
preciation and that is a fundamental strength of the school.
OBSERVATIONS and EVALUATION
The Architectural profession and the competence needed
The school does not want to limit students understanding of
what kind of architects they will be. There is much discus-
sion about the values and roles that an architect can have
apart from the traditional practising architect. In the Masters
program the course offering supports this heterogeneous
view. However, there is no discussion about what the skills
and competencies are that one needs if one wants to be-
come a practising architect.
During compulsory internships students can get an idea
about the real work of a practising architect. The School
does not assist students in finding an architectural office
and there is no supervising of how they could most benefit
from the internship. After the internship there is no guid-
ed reflection or discussions about the training, what was
learned, and what each student would like to learn more.
Students expressed a wish to learn more of the skills a prac-
tising architect needs:
•technical drawing, how to draw plan, section, etc
•project management
•economic understanding and business skills
•team working skills
•computer skills and digital competence
•Norwegian building regulations
•the sustainability aspect of architectural design
Students commented that during their studies they do not
have an opportunity to get guidance to understand how to
communicate what they can do or what they know. Students
thought that it could be useful to have practice on how to
advertize and sell what they are good at.
Curriculum structure, choosing the courses
and study path
In the Masters program students can choose courses freely.
After the fixed program of Bachelor level (NTNU) this free-
dom gives students opportunity to focus on what they find in-
teresting. Before a student chooses a course to take, there is
a meeting when courses are presented to students. Howev-
er, presentations are short and vary in terms of information
content. Students pointed out that there is not enough oral
or written knowledge to make an informed choice. Not all
the courses that were presented actually materialized owing
to the lack of interest of students. According to the students,
the quality of the courses can differ considerably. And since
the choice of the course in many cases is more or less ‘ran-
dom’, students felt that there is a luck factor in choosing the
course: ‘you can be lucky or unlucky’.