Master’s Degree Programme in Design for Cultural and Productive Context – PoliBa

POLIBA MASTER’S DEGREES | MASTER’S DEGREE IN DESIGN FOR CULTURAL AND PRODUCTIVE CONTEXT

Master’s Degree Programme in Design for Cultural and Productive Context – PoliBa

Overview

The Master’s Degree Programme in Design for Cultural and Productive Context of the Polytechnic University of Bari aims to train designers capable of operating with critical awareness and advanced skills in the complex contexts of contemporary society, integrating the knowledge of the humanities with that of the technical and scientific disciplines in the processes of analysis, conception and development of product, service and communication systems.

POLIBA MASTER’S DEGREES | MASTER’S DEGREE IN DESIGN FOR CULTURAL AND PRODUCTIVE CONTEXT

Educational Objectives

The educational objectives of the programme support the profile of a designer with advanced theoretical and design training, based on interdisciplinary methods and oriented towards research, capable of engaging with the ongoing ecological, digital and social transitions. This professional is able to interpret and activate innovation processes in cultural and productive contexts, with particular attention to the territories and supply chains of Southern Italy, understood as complex systems in which material and immaterial heritage are intertwined.

Through a strongly laboratory-based model that integrates theory and practice, the Master’s Degree in Design for Cultural and Productive Contexts – taught in Italian and English – leads to the training of designers capable of facing development challenges arising from territories and their socio-technical contexts, through design inclinations methodologically devoted to research and the exploration of new professional scenarios in a changing society.

Location

The course lessons are delivered at the campus of Bari.

Duration

The expected duration for the completion of this Course is 2 years.

Language

Classes, seminars, and laboratories are conducted in English and Italian.

Admission

Curricular requirements and prior preparation, assessment of the required language proficiency.

The programme is structured into two curricula that contribute to the training of a designer capable of operating in a systemic and strategic manner, integrating material and immaterial dimensions and contributing to the construction of new value chains:

Advanced Studies in Design Creativity and Technology (DEEP TECH), focused on design for production and technological systems, and aimed in particular at product-service systems, innovation processes, and sustainable and circular models;
Advanced Studies in Design Creativity and Territory (DEEP CULTr), oriented towards design for cultural contexts and aimed at enhancing heritage, cultural and creative industries, and processes of inclusion and local development.

PIANO DI STUDI

POLIBA MASTER’S DEGREES | MASTER’S DEGREE IN DESIGN FOR CULTURAL AND PRODUCTIVE CONTEXT

The Skills

The educational pathway of the Master’s Degree Programme in Design for Cultural and Productive Context is structured over two years, integrating theoretical courses, technical-operational activities and advanced design laboratories, with a progressive specialisation consistent with the chosen curriculum.

The first year is aimed at consolidating advanced design skills and acquiring methodological tools for analysing complex contexts, through courses in the areas of strategic design, product-service systems, design technologies, communication and research methods.

The second year is oriented towards specialised design development, with integrated laboratory activities, workshops and collaborations with institutional, cultural and productive stakeholders, leading to the definition of the final dissertation as a moment of synthesis between research and design.

The educational offer is organised in accordance with the two curricula:

in the Design Creativity and Technology curriculum (DEEP TECH), courses and laboratories explore in depth the themes of innovation in production systems, emerging technologies, sustainability and the design of product-service systems;
In the Design Creativity and Territory (DEEP CULTr) curriculum, courses and workshops explore in depth the enhancement of cultural heritage, the design of services and experiences, communication, and territorial development processes.

A distinctive feature of the programme is the central role of laboratory-based teaching, understood as a space for integrating knowledge and design experimentation, supported by research activities, international experiences and relations with the productive and cultural system.

EMPLOYMENT OUTCOMES

Professional opportunities

The Master’s Degree Programme in Design for Cultural and Productive Context trains professional designers with advanced skills, capable of working in complex and multidisciplinary contexts in both the public and private sectors.

The Master’s graduate may pursue professional activities in various fields, including:

design and development of product-service systems for companies and production chains;
strategic design for innovation, also in relation to ecological and digital transition processes;
design for the enhancement of tangible and intangible cultural heritage;
design of services, experiences and communication systems for the cultural and creative industries;
design for territorial development, in collaboration with public bodies, institutions and local communities;
research activities in the field of design, both in academic and applied contexts.

With regard to the curricula, the professional profile is further articulated:

in the curriculum Design Creativity and Technology (DEEP TECH), the graduate operates primarily in industrial and production contexts, with roles related to product, process, and system innovation;
in the curriculum Design Creativity and Territory (DEEP CULTr), the graduate operates primarily in cultural and territorial contexts, with roles related to heritage enhancement, the design of cultural services, and local development.

POLIBA MASTER’S DEGREES | MASTER’S DEGREE IN DESIGN FOR CULTURAL AND PRODUCTIVE CONTEXT

Subsequent Training

The master's degree graduate may access doctoral research programmes within PoliBa or at international institutions, as well as further advanced training activities.