方堤斯應用科學大學

This international four-year bachelor programme consists of a comprehensive, two-and-a-half year foundation phase, during which students learn all about the lifestyle sectors (health, food, human movement, leisure, appearance, work and living). Each component entails a practical assignment related to its field of activity; either a trend report or a concept for a company that operates in this particular field.

From the first day on, students are assigned tasks for companies within the lifestyle industry. They are taught and trained by professional lecturers who most of the time works in the industry themselves. The first year students are based in Tilburg. From the second year on, we also invite students to study at our partner cities (and universities) in New York, Seoul, London and Cape Town to continue their studies. Furthermore, they familiarise themselves with four core activities: trend research, concept development, realising concepts and consultancy on how to implement concepts. The final one-and-a-half years are dedicated to specialisation in at least two lifestyle sectors.

The core activities of these creative entrepreneurs entail analysing trends, developing lifestyle concepts, realising products and services and consulting on how to implement these.

Our students attend the following courses: trend research, trend analysis, general research, target group knowledge, creating concepts, creative thinking, service design thinking, marketing and communication, entrepreneurship, project management, business modelling, visual language, academic career guidance, 21 century skills, English and Adobe Photoshop / In Design / Illustrator.

Career prospects

Concept developers in lifestyle analyse trends and develop marketable lifestyle concepts that improve quality of life. They end up at departments such as marketing, innovation, research & development or new endeavours within companies and organizations. The companies hiring these students are in internationally operating lifestyle industries, for example IKEA, Unilever, Rituals, HEMA, Philips or Weleda. There are also a growing number of agencies that use knowledge of trends and consumer needs in order to develop concepts for their customers. Concept developers in lifestyle can also opt for self-employment as a creative entrepreneur.