Keep it REAL

BEING READY FOR THE REAL

WORLD AND EXPOSED TO ACTUAL PROBLEM-SOLVING,

CREATIVITY AND CRITICAL

THINKING MEANS IIE-VEGA STUDENTS ARE READY FOR BUSINESS

It’s a cliché, but any parent investing what they do in education will appreciate the need for keeping it real when choosing the best tertiary learning institution for their child. Higher education institutions that teach industry appropriate skills and make graduates work-ready, are the ones that are favoured.

Vega School – an educational brand of the Independent Institute of Education (IIE) – has a campus in Durban catering for students interested in design, brand building and business.

Vega School was opened in 1999 and places extraordinary focus on being relevant. The IIE-Vega Durban Campus Navigator, Naretha Pretorius, says the crux of its teaching is around complex problem-solving, creativity and critical thinking.

One of Vega’s key learning experiences is the annual Brand Challenge, a project that sees students assigned to a real client for a four-week period. In that time they work with real budgets and real-world problems to reinvigorate brands, and get a chance to practically apply the theory and models they have learnt.

The process involves surveys, focus groups, understanding genuine business challenges, and creating innovative solutions.

Brand Challenge has earned Vega huge industry kudos. Ian Gourley, Group Creative Director of Barrows, described his experience of working with IIE-Vega students as fantastic. “They are definitely ready for industry – more than ready,” he said. Adventurer and inspirational speaker David Grier – the first person in history to have run the Great Wall of China in both directions (4 200km each way) – worked with Vega students and Cipla to raise awareness around fire-resistant houses.

House fires in South Africa, especially in informal settlements, are lethal. A Cipla Foundation initiative and a brand concept developed by Vega students – Ajuga – was founded in 2012 after an aggressive spate of shack fires, to build hardy, affordable, fire-resistant structures.

David marvelled at Vega students working on the Ajuga concept. “The depth of their research was incredible. The insights were brilliant.”

Naretha Pretorius said the “realworld-readiness” of the Brand Challenge learning experience made all the difference. “Their projects are measured by the impact they have; and the impact is determined by the client feedback and the industry response. Companies approach us to do brand challenges and we select projects based on a combination of corporate brands and social impact initiatives.”

In addition to Barrows and Cipla, Vega has worked with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, ABSA, Hirt & Carter, The Sharks, Unilever, RCL Foods and the Willowton Group to name a few.

ABOVE: David Sweidan from the Willowton Group with Vega students who worked on the Sunfoil brand challenge.

Willowton’s David Sweidan, who did a brand challenge on Sunfoil, described his experience as enlightening. “It was eye-opening. The insights, brand propositions and overall work presented by the ‘millennials’ brings a whole new dynamic to understanding how brands and businesses need to transition their strategy to stay relevant and real.

“All of the students were highly engaged and each team presented their work in a tactile and engaging manner,” David said.

“Our employment rate is high because of the real-world industry experience they gain. When the students graduate they are ready to hit the ground running,” Naretha said.