Apply for DfG 2015

Registration closed: 31 Jan 2015 (23:55) EET. The announcement will be made on 9 Feb 2015 (9:00) EET

Thanks to the overwhelming interest, we’ve worked hard to come up with a better student selection process for DfG 2015 based on the feedback and lessons from the previous year. First, we threw out the first-come-first-served principle to avoid unfairness. Second, we’ve learnt that it’s the right mix and the chemistry of the teammates, not individual skills, that lays the best foundation for creativity and results when working with complex challenges.

The student selection process for DfG 2015 therefore will be a team-oriented one. The majority of students, 24, will be selected as teams. However, we also offer an alternative track for those who don’t know many students in Helsinki or whose network is not wide enough. Please note that you can can apply for the course either as a team or as an individual, not both. This means that you have to make a choice whether you will take the team track or individual track before you apply.

Option 1. Individual track (dark horses) – 6 students

If you choose to apply via the individual track, you are required to do a pre-assignment. 6 students will be selected through this track based on how insightful and/or constructive those points are. Once selected, you will be placed in a team as a dark horse. Note that you cannot apply through the Team Track if you choose to apply via the Individual Track.

To apply, watch the final presentation videos of DfG 2014 (https://dfg-course.aalto.fi/2014/final-concepts/), select your favourite project, and propose three points for further improvement or investigation. Your proposal will be evaluated by the organisers of the course and external experts on the domain. We are interested in your ability to see the big picture of the problem under investigation and to pay attention to small yet important details.

You can apply via the Individual Track from any school in Finland as long as you are a master’s student and your institution is under JOO-Agreement (https://haku.joopas.fi/). Keep in mind, however, that you should be present in the contact sessions and during teamwork, which means you have to be in Helsinki for those 14 weeks and study and work approximately three days per week.

Check out the preliminary schedule and workload here: https://dfg-course.aalto.fi/about-dfg/

Registration closed: 31 Jan 2015 EET

Option 2. Team track – 24 students

If you choose to apply via the team track, you will have to find 3 other students that are also interested in DfG to form a team of 4. Once selected, your team will eventually have 5 members through addition of a dark horse from the individual track. 6 teams will be selected through this track – 24 students in total.

Due to the registration policy, each team must have at least 2 Creative Sustainability (CS) students. Also, a team must have at least 2 Finnish speaking students as we are working with the Finnish government. The majority of the documents will be provided in Finnish and the team will suffer without team members who can interpret. This doesn’t mean, however, that we do not value internationality.

A team will have a better chance to be selected if they have students from outside Aalto University School of Arts, Design and Architecture (Aalto ARTS), or outside Aalto University. This means even CS students from other schools in Aalto University* than Aalto ARTS are already of an advantage – e.g. CS Business. We especially value students with experience or current affiliation with: business sciences, social science, future studies, economics, law studies, media, organisational sciences and the likes.

*CS is a joint master’s programme and therefore consists of students from different schools in Aalto University. Learn more about CS here: http://acs.aalto.fi/

You can look for peers from any school in Finland as long as they are master’s students and their institution is under JOO-Agreement (https://haku.joopas.fi/). Keep in mind, however, that all the team members should be present in the contact sessions and during teamwork, which means you have to be in Helsinki for those 14 weeks and study and work approximately three days per week. Check out the preliminary schedule and workload here: https://dfg-course.aalto.fi/about-dfg/

New to Helsinki? Not sure where you will find your peers? Don’t worry. We’ve prepared a virtual meeting place called Apply DfG (https://www.facebook.com/ApplyDfG) for you. Also, there is CS Facebook (http://on.fb.me/11SXm4M) page where you can talk to CS students.

Tell us why your team is a great mix. The key is in the balance – you will need good designers as well as people with different expertise and experiences. Consider also that we emphasise empathic design, systems thinking and behaviour insight. Your application will be evaluated by the organisers of the course and external experts on the domain.

Note that you will be selected as a team not as individuals. If your team is not selected, there is no other way to participate in DfG 2015. You can belong to only one team and cannot apply in more than one team. So, please be proactive yet selective in creating or joining the team.

Your team will be dropped altogether if any of your teammate gives up the right before the course begins. Please take note that the evaluation criteria for grades will also be mostly as a team.

Registration closed: 31 Jan 2015 EET

WebOodi and JOO-Agreement

WebOodi won’t be used for registration. Students from Aalto University, once selected, will be manually registered by study coordinator before the course begins. Students from outside Aalto University, once selected, will have to register to the course via JOO-Agreement before the course begins.

This is to reduce unnecessary work from both ends, and we assure you that the registration and getting credit won’t be a problem as long as you are a student from either Aalto University or any JOO-Agreement institute. Check out from JOO website (https://haku.joopas.fi/) and/or ask your study coordinator or amanuensis if you’re unsure.

Important dates

Admission period		1 Dec 2014 (09:00) – 31 Jan 2015 (23:55) EET
Announcement of acceptance*		9 Feb 2015 (9:00) EET
Course period		Week 9 – 22 (Tue 24 Feb – Fri 29 May) for 14 weeks in 2015

*Please note that you’ll be contacted via email about the result.

Frequently Asked Questions

Here we have listed the frequently asked questions we’ve come across during the planning of this selection process. The list will be updated as we get new ones during the process.

Do I have to register to the course online?		Yes, but not just yet. Check out “WebOodi and JOO-Agreement” section above.
What if the number of teams who applied for DfG 2015 is less than six?		We’ll be saddened, but it’s not the end of the world. We will ask the students in the waiting list from the individual track to form teams.
What if the number of students who applied for DfG 2015 through individual track is less than six?		We doubt it, but if that really happens, we will first blame ourselves, and then ask the next team in the waiting list from the team track if they’re interested in joining the course as dark horses.
What if the overall number of students who applied for DfG 2015 is less than 30?		We’ll be devastated, but we will have to just embark on the projects with those and work super hard to make amazing result in order to be back in the game – to be popular again.

Still more questions?

Please use the “Leave a response” feature at the bottom of this post to ask question. We won’t answer individual emails regarding the admission matters.