February’s issue of Monocle (on the stands now), features a 14 page feature about Central Saint Martins by Hugo Macdonald. The photographs (Benjamin Quinton) are a lively portrait of life at King’s Cross including a gallery of current students – thank you to those who agreed to be photographed.

Head of college, Professor Jeremy Till speaks about the challenges to arts education presented by the current economic climate and government policies. “We need to get our voices out,” he says, ‘The creative industries sector is second only to the banking sector in London. The economy drive is different to the financial services though. We make stuff – our relationship to industry is very close. It seems madness that the government says it’s investing in manufacturing, but then strangles the arts.” He has much to say about funding for MA degrees and the importance of the contribution that CSM’s foreign students bring to the UK economy and the global creative industries.

The Method Design Lab is a CSM initiative that aims to identify student projects with commercial value and bring them to market. For Monocle, Creative Director, Yann Mathias, highlights the Uniwrench by Korean student, Hyungwoo Yoon that will be launched this year. “It’s an incredibly simple design that could have been around for centuries, making life simpler for so many people,” Matheus explains.

More: www.monocle.com