Educating Students on a Global Scale: Study Tours in Design and the Impact on Graduates

This paper will discuss the importance of international study tour programs for undergraduate students studying design disciplines in Australia. To date, there has been no study on the effectiveness of these particular study tours and the impact on graduates. Design is a global occupation and to be competitive, designers must understand and appreciate their industry on a global scale. Australia is geographically isolated making it difficult for undergraduate students to appreciate and learn from design activities from around the world. While there is every intention by lecturers to educate students on global activities, it simply cannot compare to students studying while immersed in a different culture. A study tour offers Australian students the opportunity to collaborate with an international cohort on projects that were perhaps never thought of at their home university, as well as opening their eyes to the global world of design.