Humans are causing unprecedented changes in the environment. What are the consequences of such changes for life on earth and for human wellbeing? Understanding environmental changes, adopting measures to mitigate them, and learning how to adapt to them are some of the greatest challenges ahead. Our courses will help equip a new generation of professionals with the knowledge and skills to face these challenges.

Institutions, like organisms, are born and perish. Survival, like with organisms, depends on the ability to adapt and pass on the genes, i.e.,  information, to next generations. Critical for survival and success is management (the ability to deal with complexity), leadership (the ability to cope with change), and communication (to ability to pass on your ideas and values). These are cross-cutting skills that are important for any social endeavour and will be the focus of much of our training offers.

New information technologies are making the world ever smaller with boundaries among languages, cultures and nations becoming softer and more interwined. Yet, the more the world becomes a global stage, the more valuable local identities become. The preservation of the cultural heritage in all of its artistic manifestations becomes a critical endeavour for helping understanding who we are and where we come from.  

Discoveries in science when coupled with technological innovation are the recipe for new products that improve productivity and increase returns. Yet, customers pay ever more attention to aesthetics and functionality. Successful products are beautiful and easy to use. In other words, the realm of science and technology meets gradually by the realm of arts. Our courses in media and design will focus on this fertile ground that promotes innovation.