Abstract:

In developing the curricula for tomorrow’s designers one must keep in mind today’s dynamic mutations at a global and local scale, knowing that they are both important for the effectiveness of future sustainable solutions [Manzini, E., 2007]. In this perspective, the education of design strategists must provide a broader view by offering multidisciplinary courses and “international knowledge”.
This vision has pushed universities to enlarge their networks and connect with territories in order to give students and staff the opportunity to widen their horizons. Today, by forming design strategists capable to act in different geographical and disciplinary fields, universities have become important actors in supporting the international competitiveness of their territories and in building sustainable connections worldwide.
In order to develop future strategies in this field there is a need to form professionals capable not only to vision and build international connections, but also to manage them and to combine different social and market models [Margolin, V., Margolin, S., 2002]. This requires for the concept of “design governance” and the definition of new ways to form design strategist in this field.
Through previous experiences, the paper intends to describe the typologies of actions developed up to today and to stimulate a debate for actions:
_at a local scale: trough the development of international and multi-cultural educational programs which allow students to achieve a wider view of the differences between productive systems worldwide;
_at a global scale: through the development of international networks which capture local specificities and build sustainable international value chains.

Keywords:

design governance, strategic design, international networks.