University Day
A day to discover how universities are rethinking photography through education, research and experimentation.
University Day is an event dedicated to academic institutions and higher education schools working with photography. They are invited to participate alongside their students and lecturers, present their educational programmes and share a space for professional exchange within the festival. The initiative aims to create networking opportunities among lecturers, coordinators, professionals and students from the academic sector, strengthening connections between education and the festival’s artistic ecosystem.
Participating
Universities
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Escola Superior de Media Artes e Design (ESMAD)
Prof. Cesário Alves
The School of Media Arts and Design (ESMAD) at the Polytechnic Institute of Porto, located in Vila do Conde, Portugal, offers seven bachelor’s degrees, six master’s degrees and four higher professional technical courses. Its academic programmes include the Bachelor’s Degree in Photography and the Master’s Degree in Film and Photography, with a specialisation in Photography.
Study Programme Coordinators
Prof. Sérgio Rolando
Prof. Carlos Filipe Martins
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University of the Arts London
Prof. Victoria Ahrens
The University of the Arts London is made up of 6 centres/faculties, including the London College of Communication. This centre offers 6 photography programmes: 3 undergraduate programmes, BA Photography (Fine Art), BA (Hons) Photography and Creative Industries, and BA Photojournalism and Documentary Practice. It also has three postgraduate programmes: MA Photography (Fine Art), MA Commercial Photography, and MA Photojournalism and Documentary Practice.
Study Programme Coordinators
BA Photography and Creative Industries
Course Leader:
D Wiafe
BA Photography (Fine Art)
Course Leader:
Dr Julia Peck
BA Photojournalism and Documentary Practice:
Alexia Singh
MA Photography (Fine Art):
Dr. Victoria Ahrens
MA Commercial Photography:
Rachel Louise Brown
MA Photojournalism and Documentary:
Dr. Max Houghton
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Universidad Autónoma de la Ciudad de México (UACM)
Prof. Juan Carlos Rodríguez Ogarrio
The UACM Photography Laboratory, affiliated with the Bachelor’s Degree in Communication and Culture, hosts the Corpus Mater workshop, which focuses on professional development in photography through editorial, exhibition, experimental and image-management projects. Its aim is to create opportunities for young people to connect with networks of photographic dialogue and production, strengthening their education and supporting their first publications as part of their professional development.
Study Programme Coordinators
Prof. Juan Carlos Rodríguez Ogarrio
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Escuela de Diseño de la UTEM de Santiago de Chile
Prof. Diego Haristoy
The Laboratory for Research and Speculation on Photochemical Language is dedicated to exploring the transformation of traditional methods into processes based on waste, plants and locally sourced biomaterials for image creation. The laboratory is supervised by the Department of Design within the Faculty of Humanities and Social Communication Technologies at the Metropolitan Technological University (https://www.utem.cl).
It operates within the Photography Laboratory of the School and Department of Design, which has been active for more than 56 years. This laboratory currently uses traditional systems that have a significant environmental impact, as well as scarce, specialised and expensive materials for image processing, including both film development and black-and-white photographic paper.
In response to these circumstances, the Sustainable Photochemical Language Laboratory (LLFQS) seeks to create research opportunities for academics and students to address the changes required in photographic image-making practices. These practices should incorporate development processes that promote sustainability while opening up possibilities for the creation of new and distinctive visual languages.
The School of Design (https://diseno.utem.cl) offers two undergraduate degree programmes: Industrial Design and Visual Communication Design. The latter is closely connected to the work of the LLFQS because of its focus on visual languages.
The Department and School of Design also offer a postgraduate programme: the Master’s Degree in Design and Technologies for Social Innovation (https://diseno.utem.cl/magister-de-diseno/).
Study Programme Coordinators
Head of the Industrial Design Programme: Tomás Cárdenas
Head of the Visual Communication Design Programme: José Azaharvich
Coordinator of the Master’s Programme in Design and Technologies for Social Innovation: Alejandra Poblete
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Hochschule der bildenden Künste Essen
Prof. Carsten Gliese
HBK Essen is a state-recognized private university of art and design. The Photography/Media Art programme teaches students classical photography, film and new media, as well as spatial and temporal forms of artistic expression and artistic techniques. At the same time, interdisciplinary exchange with other programmes plays a central role in the curriculum. The master’s programme “Art and Cooperation” explores an open artistic practice that is receptive to collaboration and exchange.
Study Programme Coordinators
Prof. Anja Kempe (coordinator oft he Bachelor Program, Photography and MediaArt“)
Prof. Markus Vater (coordinator oft the Master Program, Art and Cooperation“)
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París 8 Vincennes-Saint-Denis
Prof. Aurélie Haberey
Prof. Daphné Le Sergent
Founded in 1969, Paris 8 Vincennes-Saint-Denis University is the successor to the Vincennes Experimental University Centre and the intellectual and educational dynamism that emerged in the aftermath of May 1968.
Since then, the institution has been guided by a commitment to democratising access to knowledge and responding to the challenges of the contemporary world, leading to the development of new educational and scientific approaches. Paris 8 also stands out for the importance it places on creative and innovative practices.
The university has developed innovative structures and initiatives, including the ERUA European University Alliance and the So Skilled training programme. It also offers unique and pioneering qualifications in fields such as gender studies and psychoanalysis, as well as the FLE Passerelle University Diploma, designed to support the integration of refugees.
Based in Saint-Denis since 1980, Paris 8 welcomes students from around the world, leading it to define itself as a “world university”, with 133 nationalities represented.
Study Programme Coordinators
Prof. Aurélie Haberey
Prof. Daphné Le Sergent
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Instituto Federal do Ceará (IFCE)
Prof. Wendel Medeiros
El IFCE es una institución pública de educación superior de excelencia. En su Departamento de Artes se ofrece la Licenciatura en Artes Visuales, que incluye las asignaturas de Fotografía Básica y Fotografía Experimental.
En colaboración con el Departamento de Artes, se desarrolla también la Maestría en Artes, que promueve una profunda articulación entre la teoría, la creación artística y sus interacciones sociales. Dentro de este programa destaca la asignatura Experiencias Estéticas con Tecnoimágenes, centrada en la exploración de los aspectos técnicos, estéticos, expresivos y filosóficos de la fotografía expandida.
Study Programme Coordinators
IFCE Bachelor’s Degree in Visual Arts: Frederico Bezerra de Macêdo
IFCE Master’s Degree in Arts: Maximiano Arruda
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Department of Photography and New Media at the Academy of Fine Arts and Design
Mgr. art. Ema Gejdoš Lančaričová ArtD.
The Department of Photography and New Media at the Academy of Fine Arts and Design in Bratislava offers bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral programmes that position photography as an expanded artistic medium within contemporary visual culture. By combining analogue and digital photography, moving image, new media and emerging technologies, the programme encourages experimental and interdisciplinary approaches. Studio-based learning is complemented by workshops, lectures and research-oriented modules, fostering critical thinking, artistic innovation and individual creative development.
Study Programme Coordinators
Head of the Department: Associate Professor Olja Triaška Stefanović, MFA, ArtD.
Coordinators of the bachelor’s and master’s programmes:
Associate Professor Olja Triaška Stefanović, MFA, ArtD.
Associate Professor Jana Hojstričová, MFA, ArtD.
Dr. habil. Tomáš Rafa, M.Eng., MFA
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Prague School of Creative Communication (PSCC)
Prof. Dr. Jaroslav Fišer
The Department of Photography and Audiovisual Arts at PSCC combines artistic creativity with professional practice in photography, film and multimedia production. Students develop technical skills, visual storytelling abilities and critical thinking through practical projects and collaboration with industry professionals. The programme encourages experimentation, personal artistic expression and the creation of contemporary visual content for cultural, commercial and digital contexts.
Study Programme Coordinators
Graphic Media Design: MgA. Radoslava Boor Daskalova
Animation and Visual Effects: MgA. Martin Búřil
Photography and Audiovisual Arts: MgA. Marian Beneš, Ph.D.
Creative Marketing and Communication: Ing. Jiří Zelený, Ph.D.
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Escola Tècnica Superior d' Arquitectura de Barcelona (UPCB)
Prof. Cristina Gastón
The course "To Look Is to Design: Architects and Photography" is taught as part of the degree programme at the Barcelona School of Architecture. It examines the interactions between photography and architectural design, both as a tool for learning how to observe and as a resource for the creative imagination.
With the aid of photographic images, students learn to position themselves within space, perceive relationships rather than isolated objects, test boundaries, explore visual fields and anticipate the sensory experience that the designed building, once constructed, will offer its users and observers.
Study Programme Coordinators
Prof. Cristina Gastón
Prof. Judit Taberna
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Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts Design, Film & Art
Prof. Ann-Christin Bertrand
Camera Arts is a BA undergraduate programme at the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts / Design, Film and Art, focused on New Documentary Strategies and Transmedia Storytelling. Working from an expanded notion of photography, in which moving images, new image technologies and digital cultures are consciously taught alongside analogue techniques, the programme offers a natural and broad range of techniques for students who wish to develop their practice in the constantly evolving field of image production and visual communication. Internationally recognised artists such as Laia Abril (Spain), Salvatore Vitale (Italy) and Taiyo Onorato (Switzerland) are part of the programme’s core teaching team, which is led by Ann-Christin Bertrand (Germany), former curator at the C/O Berlin Foundation.
Study Programme Coordinators
Prof. Ann-Christin Bertrand
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CFP Bauer
Elena Lovisolo
CFP Bauer in Milan is a public institution specialising in photography, visual communication and audiovisual production. Its origins date back to the Scuola del Libro, founded in 1904 by the Società Umanitaria, and to the first Industrial Photography courses developed in Italy during the 1950s.
It is currently part of AFOL Metropolitana and offers training that combines visual culture, technical skills, research and project development. Its programmes include analogue and digital photography, the history and theory of the image, post-production, printing, video and visual storytelling. Teaching is delivered through theoretical classes, workshops, individual projects and professional internships.
Study Programme Coordinators
Michela Pandolfi