”Acquiring deep knowledge and strong skills takes time”

What did you look after specificly when choosing education?

I tried to find a master’s education that would complement my bachelor studies and have a little bit different approach. I wanted my master’s education to give me new perspectives and therefore I decided to look for a school abroad. Both my previous school and Konstfack have a very good reputation and long histories. I trusted I would get the best possible knowledge in these schools and I’m very happy I got in to both of them.

 Were there any difficulties navigating among different educations in interior design and interior architechture?

There is a lot of different schools in Europe and I believe many of them would have been great with their own strengths. I spent a lot of time looking and comparing online. Reading the syllabi of different schools and looking at previous students work gives a good idea of the level and style of education and the variety of different courses.  I also knew some previous students from Konstfack so it was also very good to hear about their experiences before applying. 

What do you think is important that the education offers (internship etc.?)

The most important is of course to learn the basic skills of the profession. In this field you can specialize in a lot of things but it’s good to have some understanding of it all. Both theory and practical knowledge are important. I also think it’s important that the school supports students in developing deeper skills in their own more specific interests. There needs to be a possibility for exploring and an allowing atmosphere for new ideas and mistakes too. 

It’s great if schools can help the students to get their foot in the door of workinglife somehow. This could be internship opportunities, visits to offices or lecturers by professionals from working life for example. At the same time it’s good to remember that at schools we should develop our own thinking and also question the current working life if needed.  We need to also develop an understanding of different aspects of society that effect our work and also the other way around: how we can affect the society through our work. I wonder if some shorter interior design courses are able to give these skills or if they are focused on more surface-level design. 

Acquiring deep knowledge and strong skills takes time. It is easy to understand that someone who has studied for five years is far more skilled than someone who has done a 1-year course (which are often not even full time studies and often even online). At school, one of the most valuable things you get is to be surrounded by so many other talents everyday for years. Seeing how they create and hearing how they think is very mind opening. These people will also often become lifelong friends and an important colleague network for the future too. A lot of learning happens after graduation, no matter what education you get. If one decides to take a short course, there will be a lot more still to learn when starting to work compared to having longer studies behind. And probably with different study backgrounds people will be applying to different level jobs, too. 

Any advice to people who want´s to study to become interior architects?

You can graduate to the same profession from very different schools. They might be almost equally good but just different. So do some research about different schools and what they offer. Also try to find some current students and ask about their experiences. If it’s possible, be prepared to invest time to your studies. It really makes a difference to your skill levels whether you study for a year, five or even more.  Don’t be afraid to apply abroad aswell: you will learn even more and widen your perspectives at the same time.