Opportunity. Challenge. Innovation. These words form the backbone of RMIT University (Melbourne Institute of Technology University) in Australia. Too often, architecture schools become enamored of the aesthetics in the field to the detriment of all else. Not so at RMIT. Here, the approach is an ideal combination of meaningful research with design solutions. The architecture program achieves this by teaching design skills based in their practical application and framed by social idealism and cross-disciplinary training.
What does this mean? It means that students gain access to different perspectives on what design can do and how it can be done. Anthropology, Biology, and Engineering are just a few of the academic disciplines students are exposed to during their training in architecture, towards projects that solve health, transportation, and even water issues. Even more interesting, the numerous research centers and institutes claim no less than two UN programs as their partners, giving students the tools to enact their idealism in ways that are meaningful and truly useful.
