Executive Education

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Dentsu workshop in Japan, 2019
Photographer: © Fusako Yabuki

Dentsu workshop in Japan, 2019
Photographer: © Fusako Yabuki
Creative Leadership masterclass at RCA, 2019
Photographer: © Adam Hollingworth

Creative Leadership masterclass at RCA, 2019
Photographer: © Adam Hollingworth
Creative Leadership masterclass at RCA, 2019
Photographer: © Adam Hollingworth

Creative Leadership masterclass at RCA, 2019
Photographer: © Adam Hollingworth

A programme of executive masterclasses designed specifically to provide senior-level professionals with the most important business skills for the twenty-first century, such as creativity, critical thinking and empathy.

"The ways in which we live, work, study and relax have changed in ways that were unthinkable just a few months ago. Governments look to medics, scientists and social scientists to steer us through the pandemic.
But if it's true that sciences give us life, but the arts make life worth living, surely now, more than ever, we need the insights that art and design can offer as we look towards life after the pandemic.
Introducing free 'In session' online talks. Join the RCA's best researchers and practitioners in art and design as they explore and guide us through what it means to be human, to be connected, and to reimagine ourselves in a new future."

- Emma Wakelin (Dr), Director of Research and Innovation, Royal College of Art

'In session' talk 1: The New Geographies of Innovation / June the 9th, 11am BST

International writer, advisor and event producer John Thackara, one of the world's leading advocates for a more sustainable approach to design, in conversation with Jeremy Myerson, Helen Hamlyn Professor of Design at the RCA.

Together they will explore 3 enabling conditions for system change:

- a capacity for ecological thinking

- a focus on social infrastructure (rather than the concrete kind)

- a shift of focus from place making to place connecting.

How will this affect the work of design and designers? What role can companies play? And how can far can we go to fix a cultural disconnection between the man-made world and the biosphere?

Places are limited - Register here for talk 1

To find out more about upcoming talks, please register here

World-class professional and personal development

Using social and design-focused innovative approaches, including people-centred design, revolutionary innovation and creative leadership, these masterclasses and workshops will teach skills and strategies that are essential to private and public sector businesses in the twenty-first century.

In 2018, the World Economic Forum ‘Future of Jobs’ research report highlighted that by 2022, in the context of technological advances including AI, ‘human’ skills such as creativity, critical thinking and empathy will be among the top three most important business skills. The RCA can help executives to develop their creative leadership and innovation skills.

'We want people to walk away with a critical path to making change in their business, organisations or their own individual working lives. This is about learning and doing things that you can implement back in your organisation.'
– Professor Jeremy Myerson

Participants return to their companies or organisations with the skills, mindset and confidence they need to immediately apply what they’ve learned and deliver impact.

2020 Executive Education

Service Design Masterclass: 7–8 September 2020

Design Thinking & Innovation: 17–18 September 2020

Creative Leadership: 26–27 October 2020

Interior Design: Retail Futures: New dates to be announced soon

Successful Entrepreneurship: New dates to be announced soon

Previous courses include:

Designing Services & Products with Artificial Intelligence | Future Trends & Global Innovation

Our masterclasses are suitable for individuals and small teams. If you would like to book more than one place please get in touch as we can offer special group rates.

[email protected]

Custom Programmes

The RCA is renowned for teaching and incubating real-world innovation and is recognised as the world’s leading university for Art and Design for five consecutive years in the QS World University Rankings in the Art and Design subject area in 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019.

Our experts can develop custom executive education programmes for business, government, the public sector and universities globally.

Many of our existing open executive education and short courses can be adapted, combined or customised for the particular needs of an organisation. The courses are ideally suited for groups of 15 to 30 or more participants.

Learn more about custom programmes.

Please get in contact if you would like to discuss developing a custom programme:

Peter Christian, Head of Executive Education [email protected]
Dieudonnee Burrows, Executive Education Manager [email protected]

Teaching and Learning Methodologies

We use a ‘learning by-doing’ model that draws upon the ethos of the RCA studio context, an immersive space where interdisciplinary and creativity push the boundaries of innovation.

Through a mixture of case studies, lectures, and small group exercises, you’ll gain the strategies, tools, and insights to solve your most challenging problems.

'The RCA bears not only the tradition, but also the excellence in pushing the courses, the programmes, the students from all over the world…we can feel here a great atmosphere of creativity.'

– Nathalie Labourdette, Head of EBU Academy, September 2018

Join a Network of Global Peers

Our courses are an opportunity to collaborate with a global network of peers. The RCA attracts high calibre individuals and organisations from different disciplines, industry backgrounds and nationalities to come on our courses.

Past participants have come from a range of industries including: financial services, technology, manufacturing, healthcare, education, consulting, pharmaceuticals, advertising/marketing, museums, education, artists and designers.

Companies we have taught include:

BAA plc, Bertelsmann, European Broadcasting Union, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP, Google, GlaxoSmithKline, Hong Kong Civil Service Bureau, ITOCHU, J.P. Morgan, Panasonic, Samsung, Sharjah Art Foundation, Singapore Airlines, Sony and Statoil.

In 2018/19 we attracted participants from over 50 different nationalities and nine out of ten said that they would recommend the course to a friend or colleague.

Previous participants say:

'I've been able to apply what I learned course to my work as an innovation consultant, including leading mini design-thinking workshops internally and with our clients to help them develop new ways of working.' – Molly Russell, Freshfields LLP

'The presentations were international, focused, clear and full of impact in their delivery and design. What a privilege to study here at the RCA.' – Bertelsmann

'It’s changed our mindset, we learned how to generate ideas rapidly, prototype and present. It was stimulating and enjoyable meeting other people from our company with complementary skillsets and a different outlook. The RCA gave us confidence to implement our learning.' – Fujitsu

Faculty Expertise

All our masterclasses are delivered by RCA academics who teach on our Master’s degrees.

RCA faculty members are leading industry specialists and engage with companies across the globe on innovation projects, drawing on real-world industry experience, extensive research and proven frameworks.

Our faculty of experts include:

Professor Graeme Brooker, Head of Interior Design and practising interior designer.
Dr Eleanor Dare, Acting Head of Programme for Digital Direction, expert in computer programming and digitally themed subjects.
Dr Nick de Leon, School of Design Executive Education and Knowledge Exchange Lead.
Dr Laura Ferrarello, Senior Tutor (Research). Investigates the social dynamics between digital and physical space/systems/interfaces, as generated by people’s experience of technology.
Rama Gheerawo, Director of the Helen Hamlyn Centre for Design.
Clive Grinyer, Head of Programme for Service Design. Leader in design, innovation and customer experience.
Professor Ashley Hall, Professor of Design Innovation in the School of Design.
Professor Jeremy Myerson, co-founded the Helen Hamlyn Centre for Design and Helen Hamlyn Chair of Design.
J Paul Neeley, Visiting Tutor in Service Design and consults in healthcare service design.
Dr Rathna Ramanathan, Dean of Communication, expertise in intercultural communication design and typography.
Nicolás Rebolledo, Tutor in Service Design. Focused on the design and development of public service innovation processes.
Adrian Shaughnessy, Visiting Tutor in Visual Communication and co-founder of the publishing imprint Unit Editions.
Anne Toomey, Head of Programme for Textiles, specialist in textile design, colour and materials.