Design and Fine Arts

Sustainable Design Business educates contemporary designers for a sustainable future

In the bachelor's degree programme in Sustainable Design Business (SDB), you will learn to approach challenges with human-centered and responsible methods and tools. This means taking on the role of a contemporary designer, moving beyond traditional formgiving.

The programme combines theory and practice and equips you with design, prototyping and futures-oriented skills, together with an understanding of sustainable business models such as the circular economy. It enables you to pursue a career in sustainable organisations and also offers a pathway to master’s level studies.

LAB Institute of Design and Fine Arts is one of the oldest design schools in the Nordic countries. You will study in a creative, communal and modern environment where facilities and equipment enable multidisciplinary work and future-making. 

State-of-the-art facilities, real-life assignments, and projects

State-of-the-art facilities at the Lahti campus ensure that students can utilise a multitude of methods and modern equipment in their design work.

A lot of emphasis is based on learning together. The interaction between students, and between students and teachers, is at the core of the pedagogical approach. 

Students take on different roles within various teamwork assignments during their studies. This way the students gain experience-based knowledge and can find and develop their personal interests within the design profession.

As studies advance, more and more of the learning will take place in real-life assignments and projects. Cooperation with local and international businesses ensures that the contents of the studies are up to date and the professional networking possibilities are outstanding. This has proven to be a valuable tool towards a running start to a successful career.

A master's degree in creating sustainable futures through design thinking

Design thinking provides a means to search for opportunities and create improvements toward sustainable futures. The interdisciplinary master’s degree programme in Design for the Planet is based on the principles of ​meaningful, sufficiency, and place-based design. It emphasizes creative design thinking processes with human empathy for each other around real-world problems.

The degree programme is conducted online and as a part-time learning opportunity. Applicants are required to have at least two years of full-time work experience in a related field and an appropriate bachelor’s degree.

What do the studies include?

The studies include teacher-led online sessions, project-based online work in student teams, and independent student work. Virtual sessions are conducted approximately every two weeks during the autumn and spring semesters for the compulsory core and central complementary studies. The programme applies the flipped-classroom approach, where prework is required before online meetings and used for discussion and tasks.

The basis for development is understanding the main challenges of the state of the planet and how to follow the evolving sustainability rules, regulations, and reporting requirements. Design thinking includes systems understanding and evidence-based, human-driven information acquisition for holistic understanding and multidisciplinary development. Visual information forms an integrated part of the communication and development tools and result-building. 

The development context is studied both at the strategic level and with concern about the place-based, concrete situation. The strategic approach is not left at the abstract level, but concrete activities are sought as results, often through the means of co-design.

The thesis work includes presentations in the online thesis seminars and joint online meetings. Individual, online mentoring from the teaching staff is available as an integral part of the thesis project.

For designers, technology engineers, and graduates of business or hospitality – study circular economy solutions interdisciplinary

The multidisciplinary online master's degree programme in Circular Economy Solutions prepares students from design, business, hospitality, and technology to address global challenges related to sustainable development and to promote societal change. Graduates will master circular economy strategies and business models.

Applicants are required to possess at least two years of prior work experience in a related field (working full-time) and a desire to develop their professional skills in circular economy-related areas. The Circular Economy Solutions master's degree studies offer an excellent opportunity for networking and sharing expertise with your fellow students. 

Both Finnish and international students are strongly encouraged to apply. Also, applicants currently in a stage of career transition can avail of this opportunity to invest in their future skillset to help them re-enter the employment sector.

Duration and the scope of studies vary

Engineering and design students will complete a total of 60 ECTS credits of master’s-level studies in the degree programme, and MBA students a total of 90 ECTS.

As well as the core competence courses students will plan a personalised learning path through complementary competence studies (15 ECTS) for the engineering and design students and (30 ECTS) for the MBA students, in order to shape and customise their learning to better fit with the set learning objectives.

 In complementary studies, you can focus, for example, on 

• new technologies
• bio-based materials and solutions,
• the business potential of the circular economy.

The degree programme is conducted online and as a part-time learning opportunity. The courses are mainly executed by the LAB University of Applied Sciences' fields in Technology, Business and the Institute of Design and Fine Arts, in collaboration with the schools of LUT University.

The education is carried out under the guidance of experts from technology, design and business fields, and the studies include interdisciplinary teamwork. The students themselves represent diverse areas of expertise.