The landscape of higher education has changed. With student loans said to be every bit as vicious as a mortgage debt and tuition fees bordering on criminal, do you need to go to university in 2017 to make it in the creative industry?But what of the social and independence aspect of formal education?I head down to the D&AD offices to talk to Hilary, Steph and Sophie, Jake and Leanne about SHIFT, a new program taking raw creative talent without agency experience or a degree and helping them to make sense of their abilities, passion and ideas. I wanted to find out if we are seeing the beginnings of long awaited competition for the dusty old higher education model, for those who cannot afford to go to university or feel their efforts would be better supported in something else entirely.We discuss the pros and cons of a different approach, results in industry from the first wave of SHIFT participants and how things might start to move forward.I'm eager to hear people's views on a big topic, so hit @arrestallmimics on Twitter with feedback to join the conversation!The deadline for SHIFT applications is 21st July 2017 so hurry!https://www.dandad.org/en/d-ad-new-blood-shift-london/https://www.dandad.org/https://www.dandad.org/en/d-ad-new-blood-awards/https://twitter.com/DandADNewBloodhttps://twitter.com/dandadhttps://www.instagram.com/d_and_ad/https://www.facebook.com/DandADuk/