Master in Eco-Social Design
The 2-year practice-oriented and transdisciplinary study course is an educational framework for designers that aim to contribute to more sustainable, resilient and fair futures — both locally and trans-locally.
Eco-Social Design is not only about more eco-efficient products and services, but is striving for future-viable modes of production, consumption and life – for sustainable economies and cultures. Based on these general aims and values the design of products, spaces, processes, interactive applications and of cross-media communication is understood as an integrated task. Design is a catalyst of change.
With your projects you try to approach today's issues effectively and/or co-design concrete practices and visions for tomorrow. You are encouraged to experiment with alternative practices of collaboration and co-creation. The overarching goal: Good life for all! – empowered and facilitated by excellent design.
Holistic thinking as a basis for effective design
You will learn how to use instruments of diverse design practices and research, besides incorporating into your creative work also perspectives and competences borrowed from social sciences and economics, and from sectors such as: business, activism, technology and the crafts. This equips you to develop your ways to approach complex issues with reflection, creativity and pragmatism.
You have possibility to set your personal focus, by choosing what to deepen within the rich set of design disciplines and sciences offered in the study program.
Structure: Your project is everything
During the first semester you do small projects, introductions and excursions – to create a shared basis for more complex projects, to stimulate inspiration, and to facilitate your landing in unibz, the environment and the network of students, teacher and external partners.
In the second semester you develop an autonomous project, in teams or individually. You will select courses from the areas 'Sciences and Discourse' (in black) and 'Skills and Technologies' (in red). The former provide you with theoretical foundations, critical thinking and methods from the social and economic sciences. Through the latter, you will learn how to use the most important tools and techniques for your creative work as a designer. Experienced designers, with various specializations, will support you with the development your project along two lines: object-space-services and communication-interaction-services. All courses you choose contribute to the development of your project. If you want to customise your study plan further, you can choose courses from other faculties, too.
Facilities and study environment
The spacious and sunny ateliers are open spaces for creative development and collaboration. Here you work in teams on your projects, in constant exchange with other students and the teachers. Supervision and constant consultation with experts and stakeholders is a crucial part of this study programme.
Our superbly equipped workshops offer a wide range of technologies for your design work, such as workshops for wood, metal, plastic, materials, digital modelling, plaster and mold making, surface treatment, printing (screen, tampon and high pressure), paper and bookbinding, photography, video, Tangible User Interface & Physical Computing).
Supervision and constant consultation with experts and stakeholders is a crucial part of this study programme.
Career opportunities
The variety of jobs in the traditional field of design is already very broad and ranges from working in design studios to communication agencies and from in-house communication offices in companies to freelance activity. Eco-social design also offers the possibility to collaborate with partners who are committed to environmental, social and political change, like NGOs, foundations, local councils and other public institutions, cooperatives, citizen groups, not-for-profit enterprises and other social organisations. Also the expanding market of organic, eco-friendly and ethical products and services, the sharing economy as well as other forms of alternative economies, they all offer opportunities to our graduates. There is a lot of creative scope for designers who want to invent their own role.
This Master degree also enables you to continue further with your studies towards a practice-oriented doctoral degree.
Application
In order be admitted to the course, you will be required to prove that you have a C1 level of competence in the first language and B2 in the second language. If you don't have an official language certification, you can take a language exam at our university.
In order to attend your classes fruitfully, the university offers a six-month course to learn the third language required by the program.
Online Application
Early Bird - for EU and non-EU citizens: 1 March - 27 April 2018, noon
Late Application - for EU citizens only: 17 May - 18 July 2018, noon.
Selection Criteria
Degree, curriculum vitae, outline of a project proposal* and an interview.
For more information click "LINK TO ORIGINAL" below.
This opportunity has expired. It was originally published here:
https://www.unibz.it/en/faculties/design-art/master-eco-social-design/