Social Ecological Design Istituto Europeo Di Design (IED)

Overview

The Master’s goes OUT THERE into real-world contexts and challenges, combining in-class learning with immersive fieldwork in contexts that span Sicily, Tuscany, and Piedmont (Turin and the Alps). 

Through direct engagement with communities and ecosystems, students develop a versatile skill set – including biomimicry, multispecies thinking, cross-cultural communication, cultural ethnography, creative activism, systems analysis, inclusive design, and more—while working alongside local stakeholders, craftspeople, experts, and peers. This unique approach, rooted in DesignXCommons, nurtures the awareness that care for tangible and intangible commons emerges through design and equips students both to work closely with different actors and to engage with theories, methods, and tools for driving meaningful, regenerative, and constructive social and ecological transformation.

Methodology

Design education has been slow to adapt to the urgent, interconnected crises we face today—including climate change, biodiversity loss, social inequalities, economic stratification, and the rise of artificial intelligence culture. In response, we have created this experimental and alternative Master’s programme. As an antidote to conventional design, the programme is grounded in socio-ecological interactions, entanglements, and relationships, exploring diverse psychological, embodied, and geographical landscapes. It equips designers with the theories, methods, and tools necessary for driving meaningful change.

In order to provide future design professionals with the tools that are required in everyday life, the curriculum moves between analysis, interpretation, and application of social and ecological design. Students step away from conventional academic frameworks to explore OUT-of-the-box ideas (first trimester), immerse themselves OUT in the field and OUT of their comfort zone (second trimester), and challenge themselves to be OUT on their own (third trimester).

Who is this for?

As a transdisciplinary  Social Ecological Design  programme from Istituto Europeo Di Design (IED) , it fosters dialogue and collaboration across diverse ways of thinking and practicing, welcoming individuals from a variety of backgrounds and perspectives. The programme is open to students and professionals interested in social and ecological transformation, social justice, environmental advocacy, and social entrepreneurship, as well as to all those willing to experiment with new modes of thinking and practice. Students should have some experience (academic or in practice) with materially oriented or creative practices (design, art, crafts, theatre etc..) or have a strong interest in developing these

Why choose it?

Collaborative Learning Environment: You will work alongside leading scholars, innovative designers, and diverse local communities—both human and more-than-human—across southern, central, and northern Italy.

Immersive Fieldwork: You will directly engage with captivating and challenging real-world settings in Sicily, Tuscany, and Piedmont and through this immersive experience learn how design can have transformative agency.

Integrated Skill Development: You will gain both a strong theoretical foundation and practical design skills to address site-specific challenges in dynamic and contested environments and situations.