This summer will see the Society of British Interior Design (SBID) launch an exchange programme to create educational opportunities and professional exposure for interior design students from both sides of the Atlantic.
Organised from the SBID offices in London, the programme is being supported by leading universities with interior design courses in the USA and Canada. Britain will host the first year of the programme, offering seven-day internships in British interior design practices for second and third year undergraduate and postgraduate students from the USA.
Vanessa Brady, president of SBID, says: “The society is delighted to be working with Bowling Green State University (BGSU) in Northwest Ohio. The university has over 20,000 students, and Professor Ashutosh Sohoni – who leads the Interior Design Study Abroad at BGSU – has collaborated with SBID through my London practice for several years.
“Our partnership works. It is a real success story for the interior design industry, and building a greater scale into the initiative – through the offices of SBID – is a natural progression, and offers an opportunity to develop into something hugely substantial.
“This kind of transfer of skills, bringing with it an expansion of cultural and professional boundaries, is becoming essential in design’s global workplace. It forms a crucial part of well-rounded education in interior design.”
The agreement was made possible through the SBID’s international director, Trevor Kruse, who gained his credentials from National Council of Interior Design Qualification, and has founded a successful design practice in Toronto.
“Pan Atlantic collaborations, such as this one, suddenly makes the future for budding interior designers and design students look much more exciting,” Vanessa concludes.
Further information for placements will be available on the SBID website in the members’ area. To offer a sponsored placement to a student for five working days, readers should register their interest.
