Conclusion

The importance of part-time course in Architecture is underestimated. The course can teach students to manage their time well and juggle a lot of things in their professional and private lives, but the structure of the course would have to take into consideration specific allowances and flexibilities too to appreciate the diverse background and network of each of the student.

Part-time students bring massive potential into the industry, combining work, education and family responsibilities. This should be further brought to the attention of the relevant institutions to give part-time students enough recognition for their valuable contribution.

Our research reveals essential aspects of being a part-time student and gives an insight into the nature of this often complicated process. Most importantly, it puts emphasis on the complex network of interconnections which altogether allow Architecture students to study part-time while maintaining a healthy life balance. A part-time student should not be viewed as a singular person but as a network consisting of family members, friends, colleagues, university staff and employers. Often, being a part-time student would not be possible without a balance between all those elements in every student’s life.

PART-TIME STUDENTS BRING WEALTH OF PRACTICAL AND THEORETICAL EXPERIENCE INTO INDUSTRIES DUE TO THE WIDE SPECTRUM OF ISSUES THEY ARE TRYING TO TACKLE DURING THEIR OWN PERSONAL JOURNEYS WITH THE COURSE. STUDENTS COME OUT WITH A GOOD UNDERSTANDING OF THEORY, GOOD TIME MANAGEMENT SKILLS AND ALSO YEARS OF WORK EXPERIENCE BEHIND THEIR BELT, ALLOWING THEM TO BECOME MUCH MORE ATTRACTIVE TO EMPLOYERS.

INDUSTRIES AND UNIVERSITIES SHOULD JOIN THEIR FORCES TO IMPROVE THE PART-TIME COURSE EXPERIENCE AND DELIVER A FLEXIBLE COURSE WHICH WILL BECOME MORE ATTRACTIVE TO STUDENTS WANTING TO BALANCE THEIR PERSONAL LIFE WITH ARCHITECTURAL PROFESSION. EQUALLY, OTHER UNIVERSITIES HAVE TO ACKNOWLEDGE THE IMPORTANCE OF PART-TIME STUDY MODE AND PROMOTE IT TO HELP TAKE PRESSURE OF THOSE INSTITUTIONS WHO HAVE ALREADY IMPLEMENTED THE COURSE. WORKING INDUSTRIES SHOULD BE INVOLVED IN THE COURSE TO HELP DELIVER BETTER STUDYING EXPERIENCE AND ALLOW STUDENTS TO GAIN INDUSTRY KNOWLEDGE QUICKER.

Many aspects of studying part-time require further research to provide relevant changes to the structure of the course. All of them revolve around making the course more flexible to allow each of the part-time students to reach their full potential while maintaining a healthy life balance.

We believe that further investigation into the structure of the part-time course and the strategies the students develop to maintain a healthy life balance whilst aiming to gain crucial education could form an extensive research and provide a basis for restructuring the course so that it allows more flexibility for part-time students who should be understood as a network rather than individuals.

We also find the link between work and education in the part-time course a valuable point of research which could potentially expand across other universities. Based on our research we found out that students are generally more satisfied with their work performance rather than university performance, therefore strengthening bonds between practices and universities could be given more consideration in the future research.

GC