ABSTRACT
The Birmingham School of Architecture and Design has built on a long-standing tradition of links with practice and indeed is widely credited with being the first to have live projects embedded in the curriculum – a 1950s housing project working with the local authority. This tradition thrives today, further inspired by the concept of an Enterprise Education to equip students for life beyond graduation, blurring the boundaries between academia and practice, ensuring that our graduates are confident, independent and well-rounded citizens and professionals. Students are instructed to visit their practice some months before the placement to familiarise themselves with day-to-day matters such as travel arrangements, dress code and working hours, as well as particular matters such as what software the practice uses (so they can practise in advance), who their mentor will be and what projects they may be involved in.
