Students across The Creative School join global design intensive in Copenhagen
This fall, students from across the globe gathered in Copenhagen, Denmark, for The Art of Keeping: Sustainability through Care and Maintenance—the annual International Design Workshop hosted by EK – Business Academy Copenhagen (external link, opens in new window) (formerly KEA School of Design and Technology).
The week-long intensive brought together over 100 students from Austria, Brazil, Canada, Germany, Lithuania, the Netherlands, the UK, and the US to explore how design can foster sustainability through care, repair, and community engagement.
Students from around the world collaborated during The Art of Keeping design intensive in Copenhagen, presenting their concepts on sustainable urban design.
Participants were divided into interdisciplinary teams of 8–10 students, each assigned an urban site in Copenhagen to study and reimagine. The program included site visits, expert talks, advising sessions, and a final presentation to local collaborators and a professional jury.
The experience offered more than design insight—it fostered cultural exchange and personal growth. “My favourite part of the Charrette was collaborating with students from all over the world,” shares Jada Abdulla, Media Production student. “We each shared our expertise, making the project a very diverse and rewarding learning experience.”
Students share their final project work during the Copenhagen design intensive.
Fashion student, Alicia Unwin, reflected on the impact of global collaboration: “It was nice to work with students from Berlin, Lithuania, Bulgaria and the UK to pool together our ideas and come up with simple and sustainable solutions for its users, the shopkeepers, residents and tourists passing through. This travel intensive was a unique opportunity to also learn about each other’s different cultures and how it informed our approach to creative design and sustainability.”
The Creative School at Toronto Metropolitan University
The Creative School is a dynamic faculty that is making a difference in new, unexplored ways. Made up of Canada’s top professional schools and transdisciplinary hubs in media, communication, design and cultural industries, The Creative School offers students an unparalleled global experience in the heart of downtown Toronto.