Accreditation by the Dutch Government

In 2014 we have been officially re-accredited by the Dutch Flemish Accreditation Organization NVAO. 

Excerpts from visitation report 2014

In November 2013 we prepared an extensive report, the so-called (self) Critical Reflection as required by the Ministry of Education, followed by two intensive days during which we hosted a panel of external experts consisting of:

Dr.Tom Holert (Akademie der Künste der Welt, Cologne),

Yvonne Dröge Wendel (Head of the Bachelor Fine Art dept., Gerrit Rietveld Academie in Amsterdam),

Melissa Gronlund (Afterall journal & Ruskin School of Art in Oxford),

Geert van Mil (masterstudent at the Sandberg Institute in Amsterdam)

and the bureau AEQUI to whom the logistics of the process were delegated.

The panel conducted interviews with the DAI's director, students, alumni, tutors and representatives from the professional field. Based on its findings the panel of external experts has produced a report which was then evaluated and calibrated by the NVAO. Here are a few excerpts from the summary of the jury-report: 

Intended learning outcomes

The assessment committee established the intended learning outcomes of the programme as excellent. The course aims to educate artists who are aware of the wide range of developments in the art world and who, through in-depth critical reflection, arrive at new forms of art production and distribution that reflect, and contribute to, the ongoing renewal of the discipline. The committee highly appreciates the manner in which the programme strives to continually question the role of art as well as the form and function of art education. Furthermore, the committee applauds how the programme aims to prepare its students for the reality of an (inter)national art practice in the field through intensive collaborative projects with longtime partners in the artistic field. The committee judges that the profiles of the programmes have been translated into concrete intended learning outcomes, the level and orientation of which are fully aligned with the (inter)national requirements of a master’s programme in fine arts. The programme monitors and evaluates its profile and final qualifications through exchanges with its professional working field committee as well as through structural student- and alumni evaluations. In addition, given the programme’s structural col- laboration with a wide range of partners in the field, it is continually able to register and respond to new developments taking place within the discipline, both nationally and internationally. The committee is very positive about the programme’s capacity for learning and transforming, and considers its profile to be an inspiring example for art education in the Netherlands and abroad.

Curriculum

The assessment committee observes that the programme provides an excellent environment in which students can develop their artistic identities and in such a way that they are able to engage in a knowledgeable manner with relevant issues in the art domain, deploying these insights in their individual and collaborative art practices. The strong orientation of the programme towards the professional field through the structural involvement of highly esteemed national and international art institutions ensures that the students acquire the skills necessary to sustain an art practice after graduation; they must familiarise themselves with various forms of collaboration, negotiate different time-frames and processes of production and find ways to formulate and realise their own point-of-view within these common projects. The committee stresses that – compared to other master’s courses – the interdisciplinary and international orientation of the programme is uniquely effective, productive and sus- tainable; the nature of the exchange and research projects, the participation in (inter)national networks and the expertise of (guest) lecturers all ensure that the programmes are continually in touch with the professional field and, thus, able to anticipate and contribute to new emerging developments and trends.

The committee is very positive about the structure of the programme, which due to its intensive weeklong residencies, offers students a stable and inspiring community of fellow artists, curators and art specialists, all of whom are highly engaged and motivated to renew the field through ongoing research, reflection, discussion and exchange. Together they continually question what art can or should be and explore new forms of interdisciplinary collaboration. The committee is of opinion that with this unique structuring of the curriculum, the programme has arrived at an ideal balance between consistency, contingency and commonality, creating an environment in which everybody can thrive – students and tutors alike. In essence, the committee is of opinion that the DAI has been able to develop a future model for art education in which continuity and transformation are ideally balanced. The committee judges the programmes to be feasible: the intensive DAI weeks ensure the open communication between staff, students and management. The students receive effective guidance and coaching from the lecturers, as well as from their personal tutors throughout the programme.

Tutorial staff

The assessment committee has been able to establish that the DAI programme is taught by a team of excellently qualified tutors who are highly esteemed within the art domain, the majority of whom maintain a successful practice as artists, curators or art specialists. The committee is very positive about the manner in which the programme ensures the cohesion between its staff members who are fully part of and contribute to the dynamic DAI-community. The committee observes that the tutors are dedicated, knowledgeable and experienced, effectively communicating a true critical engagement with art and art education as well as seeking out new venues for artistic discovery and interdisciplinary exchange. 

Quality assurance

The committee is very positive about the self-critical open-mindedness of the programme and its responsiveness to issues and questions, actively seeking to create new forms of making and thinking about art through a programme intrinsically orientated towards flexibility and transformation. 

Assessment and learning outcomes achieved

Based on the interviews and examination of the underlying documentation, the assessment committee has been able to establish that the assessments and achieved learning outcomes are of an excellent standard. The validity of the assessments is guaranteed by the structural and shared monitoring of the intended learning outcomes of the projects by the head of the programme and the tutors involved. Formative and summative assessments involve in depth interviews as well as written reviews and are inherently aimed at helping students to develop their self-critical capacities to become pro-active and self-critical in their own learning processes. The objectivity of the assessments is ensured by the structural inclusion of multiple as well as external assessors at key moments in the curricula. The committee is also positive about the transparency of the assessment procedure. Evaluations are always motivated by tutors and students have the opportunity to discuss their results with their examiners.

The committee was able to conclude that the graduates succeed in achieving the intended qualifications of the programmes. This is not only demonstrated by the exceptional quality of the theses and the final graduation work but also by the manner in which graduates are able to carve a place for themselves in the art world. On the basis of its discussions with alumni and the representatives of the working field,