Tuessday, August 26, 2014
World ranking success for design school
Massey University has leapt up the global university rankings for design. The global design award agency, Red Dot, now
rates Massey fourth in Asia Pacific, up from 11th two years ago.
Massey has consistently been the only university in New Zealand and Australia to be ranked within the top 15. Red Dot
rankings are based on student success in design concept awards over five years (2010-14).
Red Dot President Ken Koo, who is based in Singapore, describes Massey as “one of the top universities in Asia Pacific
for continuously and progressively producing cutting edge and forward thinking product concepts.”
In the latest rankings, Massey’s Wellington School of Design beat strong competition from leading universities in
Taiwan, South Korea and China to get fourth. First, second and third went to Zhejiang University (China), National
Taiwan University of Science and Technology (Taiwan) and Shih Chien University (Taiwan) respectively.
In the Americas and Europe region, the Academy of Art University, San Francisco USA, came fourth. First, second and
third went to Umeå Institute of Design at Umeå University (Sweden), Art Center College of Design (USA) and ENSCI - Les
Ateliers (France) respectively.
Massey is also the only university in the region to have been awarded ‘substantial equivalency’ from the US National
Association of Schools of Art and Design. This means Massey art and design degrees are certified as substantially
equivalent to degrees from prestigious US schools like Rhode Island School of Design and CalArts.
University Vice-Chancellor Steve Maharey says the new Red Dot ranking is “a huge achievement. The ranking is more
independent evidence that Massey University has the best design school in New Zealand.”
Pro Vice-Chancellor of the College of Creative Arts, Professor Claire Robinson, says Red Dots are among the most
prestigious design awards in the world. “It really is a delight to see our students flourishing on the international
stage.”
In the past five years, Massey design students have won dozens of Red Dots, for designs ranging from a digitally
fabricated chair and an electronic sheep drenching unit to typographic work for adult literacy learners, a poster
campaign about autism and a comic about the tormented life of scientist Nikola Tesla. In 2013, industrial design
graduate Stacey Kenny won Red Dot’s top prize, the Luminary Award, for a system to re-home spent battery hens.
Globally, more than 10,000 student projects are entered in Red Dot competitions each year.
ENDS