STUDENT EXPERIENCE
The student experience, as attested by student statements on various occasions and frequently on social media is a most positive one. They are offered opportunities to investigate a wide range of design areas and are supported to develop their creative skills and intellectual capabilities.
The Vakalo provides a well equipped and friendly environment that fosters a sense of belonging to a special kind of team. Visits to Galleries, Museums, Archaeological sites are regularly organised. Trips within Greece and abroad combining pleasure and learning also strengthen the ‘Vakalo spirit’. Recent visits abroad include trips to New York, Amsterdam and Berlin.
Live projects are frequently conducted with firms, NGOs, social welfare societies, charities etc. bringing students into direct contact with the market and social issues.
STAFF
Since its founding the Vakalo has employed prominent artists, designers and theorists to teach and manage its programmes of study. The College always employs highly qualified and experienced staff who form a closely-knit team of dedicated teachers, selected on the basis of shared values, principles and aims.
A wide range of education backgrounds (Greece, UK, France, Germany, Italy, USA, Holland) contributes to an open-minded and cosmopolitan outlook.
A large number of current staff are UK/US higher education alumni, and are qualified to teach in English as well as in Greek. Staff members have been awarded prizes and distinctions, both national and international, and all are practicing professionals with distinguished careers. All members of staff are accredited lecturers of the University of Derby and hence qualified to teach HE programmes in English as well.
ALUMNI
Vakalo graduates have continued with PG studies at numerous prestigious institutions abroad in several countries, including Britain, France, the Netherlands, Spain and the USA, at prominent institutions such as the RCA London, UAL, Goldsmiths and UCA (UK), Sandberg Academy and Eindhoven (Netherlands), Madrid Politecnica (Spain), Grenoble École des Beaux Arts (France), and the Pratt Institute (USA).
EMPLOYABILITY
The employment prospects for Vakalo graduates are as good as they can get in the current difficult climate in Greece. The good name of the College, as well as the good work provided by our graduates in employment, attract employers who seek job candidates directly from the Vakalo.
Ove 200 advertisements for job opportunities received, against a figure of 150 graduates during the last 2 years. Good prospects of employment abroad based on strong portfolios and college reputation, strenghtend by the work of our alumni overseas.
Vakalo alumni besides Greece are currently employed in the UK, Spain, USA, France, Germany, Belgium, Italy, Norway, the Netherlands, Emirates and South Africa.
DISTINCTIONS / COLLABORATIONS
National and international competition prizes have been frequently won by Vakalo students, including several world-class awards (such as Mobius 2005, Montreux 2012), while a series of cultural institutions, non-profit agencies and commercial firms have sought collaboration with the Vakalo for various promotion, publicity and cultural projects, including the British Council, the Institut Français d’ Athènes, the Goethe Institut, Type Directors’ Club NY, Benakis Museum , the National Committee for Road Safety, the Athens Planetarium, the Central Athens Book Gallery, Open House (Architectural Showcasing), Art Critics Association (AICA Hellas), and several prominent commercial firms, such as IKEA, Plaisio, LG, Cocomat. Joint projects have been pursued with other European Universities such Montpellier and Venice (in the context of an Erasmus IP), London College of Communication, Anglia Ruskin, Aarhus, Kassel and Bauhaus Weimar. Further, the Vakalo has hosted design workshops for students from Shenyang Normal University, China (2015), HTX Køge College, Denmark (2017), Akademie der Bildenden Künste München, Germany (2023).