Rate My Professor Leen Deprez

Leen Deprez serves as Program Director and Lecturer in Industrial Product Design within the Architecture and Design domain at Hogeschool West-Vlaanderen (TU), operating as Howest University of Applied Sciences in Kortrijk, Belgium. In this capacity, she leads the Bachelor Industrieel Productontwerpen, a distinctive three-year professional bachelor's program unique in Flanders. The curriculum encompasses the entire product design process, from initial creative concepts and form development to technical realization and presentation of production-ready designs. Students in her program utilize the Industrial Design Center's advanced facilities for hands-on prototyping, experimenting with materials like wood, metal, and textiles through techniques including 3D printing, laser cutting, waterjet cutting, thermoforming, welding, and ceramics. Emphasis is placed on sustainability, circularity, ergonomics, user-centered testing, and interdisciplinary approaches, preparing graduates for careers as product designers, industrial form givers, material specialists, prototypers, and entrepreneurs in manufacturing firms, design studios, or startups.

Deprez directly contributes to student education by teaching Technology I, which includes laboratory sessions on core technical principles. She facilitates real-world projects, such as the 'tRUST' innovative sleep shelter designed by her students for small creative enterprises; she noted the external jury's strong approval of the design while appreciating their openness to novel concepts and adequate safety measures. Deprez organizes and publicizes graduation exhibitions, like the Class of 2022 showcase featuring student industrial product designs. Her international involvement includes participation in academic exchanges, such as a visit to the Technical University in Zvolen (TUZVO) on November 5-6, 2015. Under her direction, the program has achieved global recognition, earning gold as the world's best product design school in the product design category.