A day in the life of a FAD student

The UAL Awarding Body team stepped into the shoes of the students taking their qualifications at their recent staff development day at Central Saint Martins (CSM). The team experienced a typical day as Foundation Diploma in Art & Design (FAD) students, getting to know the creative processes behind their elaborate productions.

The day was designed not only to help staff gain a better understanding of what students experience on our courses, but also to understand first-hand how centres deliver our qualifications. After introductions from Jo Simpson (CSM’s Senior Lecturer and Knowledge Exchange Leader for FAD) and Ed Mendoza (former FAD student and CSM graduate), who ran the insightful session, the team took part in a range of exercises which put their creativity and determination to the test. Jo Simpson said:

“It was a pleasure working with the UAL Awarding Body team on their staff development Away Day. I developed a one-day Fashion workshop based on an existing project we deliver on Foundation to give staff a realistic experience of ‘a day in the life of a Foundation student’.

The Day involved an inspiring talk by CSM Foundation student, Edward Mendoza, who talked about his experience on Foundation as an Insights student, before going on to study BA Fashion Print at CSM and subsequently winning the prestigious L'Oréal Colour Prize after graduating from the MA Fashion course at CSM.

The team then went on an observational drawing session on location, scaling up shapes from their drawings and then working only with paper and in pairs, to create structures for the body.”

The end result was a gallery of innovative creations modelled by our staff. Reflecting on the day, UAL Awarding Body’s Deputy Director, Ruben Hale, said:

“UAL Awarding Body exists to promote creative education and celebrate the achievements of students, so it’s really important for us to experience that first-hand from time to time; to remind ourselves what it is like to be a student. It was great to see everyone in the team try things out, learn from failures, make connections and get out of their comfort zones. Thanks to our inspirational tutors Jo and Ed, who nudged us all the way to some weird and wonderful fashion wearables!”

Thanks again to the CSM FAD team for such an insightful day! Take a look at some photographs from the day below.