FCAD at international week in Stuttgart, Germany
TORONTO, December 3, 2019 -- Members from FCAD were invited to Hochschule der Medien (HdM) in Stuttgart, Germany to present about FCAD’s leading-edge curriculum and foster international collaboration. Associate Professor, Ian Baitz, talked about flexible curriculum through Directed Courses during Innovation day, while the Chair of the School of Graphic Communications Management (GCM), Jason Lisi delivered a presentation about GCM and exchange opportunities to a full auditorium of students at HdM’s International Day. In addition, the faculty’s Director of Marketing and Strategic Development, Rana Latif, and International Coordinator, Sandra Chung, visited the Hogeschool van Amsterdam (HvA) and Hochschule der Medien (HdM) to speak about FCAD’s new innovative course offering, called the Global Campus Studio Supercourse, and to participate in discussions about advancing international learning opportunities.
Associate Professor Ian Baitz from the School of Graphic Communications Management speaking about flexible curriculum through Directed Courses during Innovation day
Chair of the School of Graphic Communications Management, Jason Lisi, sets up a booth at HdM to tell students about exciting international opportunities at FCAD
Global Campus Studio is a virtual hub for creative international collaboration and co-creation, offering a wide range of interdisciplinary learning opportunities for students. Students who participate in the course gain valuable skills in creative development, media entrepreneurship, and design thinking, as well as experience in dealing with the unique challenges and opportunities of international collaboration.
HdM has been an integral partner from the early development stages of FCAD’s Global Campus Studio. In 2018, Okke Schlüter, Professor in the Faculty of Printing and Media, joined Ryerson’s Richard Lachman in a pilot project for FCAD’s Design Solutions Supercourse (FCD815) that presented students from both institutions with an opportunity to collaborate on developing influencer products. “Virtual collaborations are characteristic of the globalized media industry,” said Schlüter. “Global Campus Studio develops invaluable skill sets for students and prepares them for their future workplace.“ This semester, HdM’s Sabiha Ghellal, Professor of User Experience and Game Design, co-lead a virtual reality project with our own Emilia Zboralska through Global Campus Studio.
In the spirit of global collaboration, the university hosted Latif and Chung over the course of their International Week and met with thought leaders from: the Netherlands, New York, Aruba, Belgium, Sweden, Denmark, California and more. Together, they spoke to academics and other international colleagues about FCAD’s leadership role in education for the creative fields as well as the various international initiatives: hubs, exchange, short-term intensives, faculty exchange and research collaboration. "This conference allowed around 85 staff and faculty from nearly 45 institutions around the world to meet and share ideas around education for the 21st century,” said Latif. “We were excited to establish a few new collaboration leads for FCAD with both existing and new partners.”
FCAD's Director of Marketing and Strategic Development, Rana Latif, co-presenting with Okke Schlüter, professor in the Faculty of Printing and Media at HdM, about Global Campus Studio
As a part of the Global Campus Studio Supercourse, students at HdM connect virtually with students at FCAD to share their creative prototypes
FCAD’s School of Graphic Communications Management, a longstanding partner of HdM, has collaborated with the university on a multitude of occasions and pioneered new international processes and student opportunities. Two years ago, GCM created a new kind of international short-term course offering that allowed international students to study at GCM for either two or four weeks; This offers students newfound flexibility in global learning experiences, as well as, access to new creative classes.
“Our School pioneered a process that was not previously offered, and the model created can now be easily adopted by other FCAD Schools,” said Jason Lisi, chair of the School of Graphic Communications Management. “I am proud that GCM has had a long and successful relationship with HdM... this partnership benefits students greatly, and I look forward to continued collaboration and new ideas in the years to come.”
In addition, after executing a successful pilot of faculty exchange, GCM and HdM are working towards an official agreement that allows for easy and seamless exchange of professors between institutions.
Members from FCAD on a tour of HdM in Stuttgart, Germany
Representatives from various universities, including Ryerson University, Syracuse University and Amesterdam University of Applied Sciences come together for dinner
The strength of FCAD’s international connections, and its respective schools, are what propel the development of cross-disciplinary curriculum with an international scope; The faculty continues to grow unique relationships on a global scale that foster experiential learning and networking opportunities for emerging creatives.
FCAD at Ryerson University
Ryerson FCAD is an impactful education hub and innovation ecosystem at the heart of Canada’s media, design and creative industries. It is grounded in Canadian values but with a truly international perspective and scope. It is home to many of Canada’s top schools and programs in their field and recognized as a leading institution around the world.
Media contact:
Nicole Bartnicki
FCAD at Ryerson University
Coordinator, Marketing and Communications
nicole.bartnicki@torontomu.ca