SAMPLE: Branding an Education.

SAMPLE is a publishing group and branding exercise established by Nicola Perren Course Leader BA (Hons) Textile Crafts at the University of Huddersfield. SAMPLE, currently includes five academic staff, three support staff and approximately 80 students who design, produce and fund a catalogue on a yearly basis which, promotes graduates and establishes a clear brand identity for Textile Crafts.
The catalogue has gained high profile recognition through it’s nomination for the ‘McNorton’ Review publishing award, and is recognized as a show case for new talent in the field of design/crafts.
The paper aims to explore two areas of activity:
Entrepreneurship: Income generation from public and small business and corporate sponsorship, catalogue sales and the generation of SAMPLE branded craft products sold through a range of outlets.
Learning: SAMPLE has allowed staff to extend and innovate business and promotional activities within the curriculum. Students are encouraged to put marketing strategies into practice that promote the context of their practice within a formal publication. The graduates have a supported transition into the workplace and a space to engage with business

‘The importance of forming effective partnerships for entrepreneurship education that will depend not on the collaboration but the nature of the relationship between stakeholders in the collaborative enterprise’1

The paper will conclude by assessing the future for SAMPLE as a sustainable publishing group and explore its potential to extend its remit as a cross school/university activity.

1Clews, D. (2006), Enhancing Curricula, cltad