Erasmus+ and International Mobility for IAAD. Students

For more than ten years as holder of the ECHE Charter, IAAD. has taken part in the Erasmus+ programme with active agreements in France, Spain and Germany, and has launched extra-European partnerships with Art Center Pasadena and Shijiazhuang University: an international network available to students and staff.

The Erasmus+ programme at IAAD.

IAAD. holds, for the second consecutive seven-year cycle, the Erasmus Charter for Higher Education (ECHE), with Charter number 269982-EPP-1-2015-1-IT-EPPKA3-ECHE and university code I TORINO09.

Thanks to the European Erasmus+ programme, IAAD. takes part in research projects on sustainability, innovation and education promoted by the European Community, and offers its students and staff the opportunity to undertake periods of mobility abroad in order to learn and share knowledge. Continuous participation in the Erasmus+ programme is not merely a formal recognition: it means that an IAAD. student can design their undergraduate path to include a semester abroad at selected design universities, with recognition of the credits earned and integration of the work carried out abroad into their study plan.

ECHE Charter — official IAAD. data

• Charter number: 269982-EPP-1-2015-1-IT-EPPKA3-ECHE
• University code: I TORINO09
• Validity period: second consecutive seven-year cycle

Partner universities within the Erasmus+ programme

Interinstitutional agreements for student and staff mobility are currently active with design and visual communication higher education institutions in three European countries.

Germany

• Media University of Applied Sciences — partner for programmes in communication, new media and visual design.

France

• École De Condé — a reference school for design, fashion, animation and photography
• ECV — École de Communication Visuelle, for graphic design, animation and digital
• Groupe ESP-ESD — product design and innovation design
• École Supérieure du Parfum — the only partner university dedicated to perfumery and olfactory design
• EAC — Centre d’études supérieures en économie, art et communication — at the intersection of cultural management and communication

Spain

• Barreira Arte+Diseño (Valencia) — applied arts, illustration and product design
• UDIT — Universidad de Diseño, Innovación y Tecnología (Madrid)
• EADE (Málaga) — international programmes in design and communication
• CES Design — Centro de Estudios Superiores Design
• ERAM (Girona) — design, audiovisual communication and performing arts

The geographical and disciplinary diversity of the partners reflects the plurality of IAAD. study programmes: from fashion design to transportation design, from visual communication to product design, each student can identify a destination consistent with their own pathway.

International bilateral agreements beyond Europe

Starting from Academic Year 2023/2024, IAAD. began developing international relationships and agreements with institutions active in education and training in design also outside the European scope of the Erasmus+ programme.

In particular, the following have been activated:

• an agreement with Art Center College in Pasadena (United States) — one of the most internationally recognised design schools, particularly for transportation design and industrial design;
• a memorandum of understanding with Shijiazhuang University (China), with a view to opening the IAAD. network to the Asian area.

Within the framework of the agreement with Art Center, a cycle of special lectures on transportation design has been launched, delivered remotely between the two universities: Art Center students can attend lectures organised by IAAD. and vice versa, in a logic of reciprocal exchange of teaching and design practices. These bilateral agreements complete the Erasmus+ offer: while Erasmus+ guarantees structured and funded European mobility, the extra-EU partnerships open targeted opportunities for dialogue with very different design scenes — the American West Coast and contemporary China — which are of strategic value for the education of a young designer.

International mobility for IAAD. students: how it works and what it offers

International student mobility is one of the most transformative experiences within a university pathway in design: it means designing in a different cultural context, working with classmates from all over the world, and engaging with different teaching methods and design traditions.

Who can participate

Students regularly enrolled in IAAD. undergraduate programmes who have earned a minimum number of CFA credits and submit an application within the deadlines of the annual call may take part in the Erasmus+ programme. Selection is based on academic merit, motivation and — where required by the host institution — language level.

Duration and period of mobility

Outgoing Erasmus+ mobility may last one semester or a full academic year and usually takes place from the second year onwards, once the student has consolidated the foundations of their study plan. The calendar is coordinated with that of the host university in order to guarantee full recognition of the work carried out.

Recognition of credits

Before departure, the student agrees with their programme coordinator on the Learning Agreement: a document that aligns the courses to be taken abroad with the subjects in the IAAD. study plan. At the end of the mobility, credits are recognised without the need for supplementary exams, provided that the Learning Agreement has been respected.

Staff mobility and research projects

The Erasmus+ programme does not only concern students: IAAD. lecturers and technical-administrative staff may also undertake periods of mobility at partner institutions for teaching or training activities. Alongside this dimension, IAAD. actively participates in European research projects on sustainability, innovation and new teaching methodologies in design.

Frequently asked questions about Erasmus+ and international mobility at IAAD.