Dezeen Magazine

"Importing staff from overseas is bad for the UK design industry"

Comments update: design education in the UK was the hot topic among readers this week, as industry figures claimed they prefer to hire graduates from overseas during Dezeen's Brexit design summit, and a survey revealed 25 per cent of architecture students have mental health problems.

School for scandal: UK design education is "f*cked" and studios will continue to hire overseas talent unless the government invests in better facilities for schools, leading designers revealed during the summit Dezeen hosted in the wake of Brexit.

"UK further education is extremely lacking," agreed a user called Glen. "On the other hand, 'importing' staff from overseas is both unsustainable in the long term and bad for the UK design industry, denying home-grown graduates an opportunity to develop."

"Design education in the UK, or indeed anywhere, is only as good as the effort the students put in and the expectation of quality by the people running the course," said Kevin Quigley.

"If you are just looking for drones to reproduce work then it's not really a 'creative' industry," John Doe said in defence of UK students.

"The latest generation tend to Google their way through a degree," said Bazv. Do you agree? Read the comments on this story »


Architecture students report mental health issues according to AJ survey

Under pressure: a new survey carried out by British magazine The Architects' Journal (AJ) disturbed some Dezeen readers, after it revealed that a quarter of architecture students in the UK have reported mental health issues related to the heavy workload and debt that accompanies their degree.

"This is depressing," wrote a guest user. "After reading about how top studios depend on international students after the Brexit vote, I question the state of our profession and how competition has destroyed our profession and graduates ability to work."

"A really worrying statistic," said Tim O'Callaghan. "Students should be encouraged to enjoy themselves and to find their own voice – that is where innovation and new ideas will originate."

However, some readers weren't shocked. "Sadly, this really comes as no surprise. Architecture schools fail their students on so many levels – the neglect of the health and wellbeing of their young charges, in particular, being totally unforgivable," said Chris DobsonRead the comments on this story »


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Olympic stumbles: concerns are growing for Olympic host city Rio de Janeiro's sporting infrastructure, as reports begin to emerge of unfinished athlete's accommodation and the collapse of a sailing ramp just days before the games begin.

"This Olympics is in danger of slipping into farce. They've had years to get it delivered and it should've been completed by now," wrote a guest user.

"Oh come on, this happens every Olympics!" Trent responded.

"Remember the Commonwealth Games in India? Or the Beijing Olympics? It's because generally unstable countries with troubling political or economic climates tend to focus on getting the more important things, like the main park, ready," agreed regular commenter KayRead the comments on this story »

Sailing ramp collapses ahead of Rio de Janeiro Olympics

"This is what happens when you attempt to merge political correctness with a third world country," user Deadindenver wrote in response to the news that a boating ramp built for the Olympic sailing competitions in Rio has collapsed due to "strong winds".

"The games should have gone to Chicago all along," said Blackhawk, in reference to the US city's failed bid.

"Pretty sure the Russians had something to do with this," wrote user Mehr satirically, alluding to the Russian doping scandal that recently threatened the country's participation in Rio's 2016 games. Read the comments on this story »