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SBID joins 'the acronyms' to bring learning opportunity to design students on both sides of the Atlantic
This Summer will see the Society of British Interior Design launch an exchange programme to create educational opportunities and professional exposure for interior design students from both sides of the Atlantic. The move comes following a meeting with similar bodies from other parts of the world, which has been dubbed the 'Acronyms meeting'
Organised from the SBID offices in London, the programme is being supported by leading universities with interior design courses in US and Canada. Britain will host the first year of the programme, offering seven-day internships in British interior design practices for 2nd and 3rd year undergraduate and post-graduate students of interior design, from the US.
Vanessa Brady, President of SBID, says: "The Society is delighted to be working with Bowling Green State University 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. He is one of Canada's leading design figures.
The initial meeting was held in Toronto, at the national trade design show taking place at International Interior Design Exchange, during the aptly named 'Acronyms meeting'.
Participants included the British Consulate in Canada, and global interior design industry leaders from the International Interior Design Association (IIDA) and the American Society of Interior Design (ASID) from the US. Also attending was Interior Designers of Canada (IDC) and the National Council of Interior Design Qualification (NCIDQ), which spans both USA & Canada. Mainland Europe is being represented by European Council of Interior Architects (ECIA) with British representation from the SBID.
"Pan Atlantic collaborations such as this one, suddenly makes the future for budding interior designers and design students look much more exciting" says Vanessa Brady.
Further information for placements will be available on the website in the members' area, if you would like to offer a sponsored placement to a student for five working days please register your interest.?
SBID is the standard-bearer organisation of the profession of interior design in Britain and represents members in practice, higher education and industry. The organisation supports the profession locally, nationally and internationally and is part of a global network of 50,000 designers who are professionally accredited. SBID is the British organisation selected by the 16 nation members of the European Council of Interior Architects and the NCIDQ in the USA and Canada to represent their professional accreditation standards in Britain.
T: 0207 738 9383
E: [email protected]
W: www.sbid.org
5th April 2013