Learning outside campus: academic Support OFF-SITE, Camberwell College of Arts, University of the Arts London

Underpinned by the principles of ‘discovery learning’ (Bruner, 1961) and inspired by study trips/tours/visits in architectural education (Ewing, 2011), I included off-campus visits as part of my academic support provision from 2022. In September 2024, the Academic Support team at Camberwell College of Arts launched the OFF-SITE programme, offering visits to public spaces, museums, collections, archives, and architectural sites throughout the year, with the aims to allow cross-course student networking to happen, to orient students to London where they were studying and living, and to develop students’ awareness of art and design contexts and academic skills by using London as a resource.

In this presentation, I shared the experience of planning, promoting, and implementing the programme with a focus on my visits to places such as Barbican Centre, Victoria and Albert Museum, King’s Cross redevelopment, and Canada Water Masterplan. I also reported on students’ participation in and feedback from these trips.

The value of OFF-SITE was multifaceted. These visits were aligned with art and design education, allowing students to reflect in meaningful contexts and develop their critical thinking and research skills in places showcasing creative practice. It has thus provided ‘“curriculum-adjacent” spaces for exploring, planning and reflecting’ (Maxwell and McVitty, 2024), enhancing students’ learning development and engagement with creative scenes in London. These events have also contributed to ‘community-building’, one benefit of teaching outside classroom (Clarke, 2022), through cross-course student communication and networking observed in the trips.

Through the implementation of OFF-SITE, valuable insights and learning have been gained into the logistical and pedagogical considerations of off-campus learning initiatives. The success of the programme further demonstrated its potential to be replicated or tailored locally to enhance student experience.