Master in Designing Educational Landscapes between Pedagogy, Architecture and Design – EDENSPACES

The master offers an integrated vision of educational spaces, seen as true landscapes in which relationships between people, environment, physical space and learning practices are interwoven. The programme is divided into three main modules. The first provides the theoretical foundations for an ecology of learning, bringing pedagogy, architecture and design into dialogue. The second is devoted to the co-design of educational spaces, with a participatory approach involving users, communities and professionals. The third makes it possible to explore innovative projects and actions, analysing real-life experiences and testing new solutions. The underlying idea is that space is not a mere container for teaching, but an active component of educational processes, capable of influencing well-being, participation and the quality of relationships. For this reason, the programme invites students to read pedagogical, physical, social and environmental dimensions together.

Teaching has a strongly applied focus and amounts to 1,500 hours in total, equal to 60 credits. In addition to 108 hours of in-person lessons, there are 78 hours of online teaching, 18 hours of workshops and project work, and 24 hours of excursions, which take students to directly observe places and projects in the field. A significant part of the workload is devoted to hands-on experience and personal work: 300 hours of internship, 250 hours of project work and thesis, and 722 hours of individual study. The course takes place in Bolzano on a full-time basis, and about half of the lessons are delivered in a foreign language, which encourages exchange with international perspectives and with a group of students of diverse backgrounds and origins. The excursions, in particular, turn the territory into an open-air classroom, while the project work allows students to develop design ideas in groups, simulating the dynamics of a professional assignment and engaging with the needs of those who use educational spaces every day.

The aim of the master is to train professionals able to innovate educational environments, working as designers, consultants or project coordinators. By the end of the programme, participants have acquired theoretical, methodological and operational tools to conceive, lead and evaluate interventions on learning spaces, in both formal and informal contexts. Career settings include educational institutions, research centres, design studios, public administrations, and social and environmental organisations. The interdisciplinary nature of the programme makes the master suitable for educators, architects, designers, teachers and other professionals interested in rethinking the relationship between space, education and community, and in contributing to a school system and a territory that are more inclusive, sustainable and open to participation. The combination of pedagogical knowledge and design culture is what distinguishes the programme and makes it useful also for those who wish to steer their career towards research or consulting.