A collaboration between BA Interior and Spatial Design and IED Kunsthal University Bilbao.

The regeneration project is defined by concepts of sustainability, recovering a degraded space, and converting it into a new well-connected quarter, with affordable housing, environmentally friendly industry, cultural and social facilities, and open spaces. The Master Plan project was designed by the famous Zaha Hadid Architects. Kunsthal’s campus is an old paper warehouse that has been converted maintaining its rawness and genuineness.

Co-design your place

Co-design Your Place was an 18-month project funded by Erasmus+ . It involved young adults from London, Denmark and Poland in the regeneration processes of degraded but culturally significant urban regeneration zones. For example the Palace-Park Complex in Siemianowice Śląskie, Poland. Participants became changemakers, designers and leaders to create social impact and community engagement through innovation.

CRAFT

UAL is proud to welcome exchange students from more than 100 partner institutions from around the world, including through our extensive Erasmus+ network.

We are committed to enhancing our students’ experience by creating exciting opportunities to study and work abroad. Students can study at a wide range of partner universities abroad as well as undertake a traineeship during the course of their degree through Erasmus+.

A key component in internationalising the curriculum and student experience is about providing opportunities and encouraging our staff to engage with mobility both within and beyond Europe. Creative subjects are taught very differently in different countries, and even within Europe we recognise different pedagogical approaches. Enabling and encouraging  staff to visit partner institutions has allowed us to identify and explore different approaches to teaching and learning practices, and to better understand the different contexts from which our students originate. It widens both professional practice and professional networks, frequently kick-starting wider collaborations with partner institutions such as EU funded mobility and research projects.

Rahel Zoller, Leipzig Academy of Visual Arts, Germany

Rahel Zoller - Book Arts Specialist Technician at London College of Communication - undertook a Staff Training Mobility trip in November 2019 at the Academy of Fine Arts Leipzig. Due to the specialism of Rahel’s job, Erasmus has provided an opportunity to meet those in a similar role.

“When I started my job ten years ago I was the only person running the department. It is a very unique job and there are not a lot of Book Arts workshops left in the UK. Having the opportunity to visit different institutions has helped me to keep the facility up to date, exchange knowledge with other specialists as well as made me realise what fantastic facilities students have here at LCC – for that, the Erasmus scheme has always been rewarding.”

“We were able to further investigate different publishing methods in Germany and it gave us the chance to speak to specialists working in the same field. We had a really fruitful exchange because we each came with our own expertise and were able to have conversations on what works, what doesn’t work, what could be improved. For me, it has broadened my expertise with being able to talk to different people with similar jobs but different structural and cultural backgrounds.”

Mina Ali, Bielefeld University, Germany

Mina Ali – Facilities Manager at London College of Communication - undertook a Staff Training Mobility trip in February 2020 at Bielefeld University.

After hosting one of their facilities staff back in London, Mina was impressed with what she had heard the university had in place. “My reason for going to Bielefield University was to build working relationships and experience a different environment and culture and see what they have in place in their Estates Department.”

Throughout the trip, Mina had an extensive tour, spent time with each team in the Facilities team, learned about the university’s sustainability, spent time with the head office and communications team, and more. “From my first day on-site they made me feel more than welcome and tailor-made my work experience at the university to suit my requests," she says. Meetings were conducted in English so that Mina could understand and because of growing Covid concerns, they were starting to put safety measures in place.

She also learned a lot from the team at Bielefeld that she could take back to LCC. “Everything they have in place is to a really high standard and a lot of attention to detail, I felt like I had discovered all the solutions in place to challenges that I have on my site,” she says. “It made me feel very motivated in my role.”