The Köln International School of Design at TH Köln is part of the following international networks:
Cumulus Association is the leading global association of art and design education and research. Currently, the association holds 350 members from 63 countries.
The network was established to coordinate collaboration between schools and to facilitate student and teacher exchange within the European Union Erasmus programme. The network was transferred to Cumulus Association in 2001.
In the last 30 years, Cumulus has become a global association that organizes biannual conferences and initiates projects and workshops with member institutions. Their aim is to improve the quality of art, design, and media education and to help students, professors, and other faculty members work internationally. In addition to academic collaboration, Cumulus facilitates collaboration with businesses, public institutions, and governments with an interest in art and design education and research.
Global Design Initiative is a network of five partner schools (Cologne, London, Singapore, Tokyo, Taipei) meeting annually for a one-week workshop since 2015. Each year, one of the schools is hosting an event, where three students from each school are invited to join this workshop.
The project aims to investigate intercultural learning, to understand the use of narrative in design, the use of cultural artefacts, behaviours and places as source material for design intervention, and to gain insight into the values, aspirations and concerns of a new generation of designers.
The initiative targets to accomplish the following key objectives:
- Develop new discourses in Design Education in iterations, in practice, discourse, and reflection.
- Discover new opportunities and activities in Design Education through interdisciplinary investigations and interventions as well as to promote the sharing of good practizes.
- Increase the dialogue of current Art and Design Education pedagogy and emerging trends in higher education by embracing diversity in cross-cultural and interdisciplinary collaborations.
- Culminate a database of knowledge and experience as well as to promote a wider participation and interaction through a more global outlook. The Initiative will take form in different formats and phases. Each year three students from each institution will be chosen to take part in a workshop.
The MEDes is a unique network of seven leading European design schools. During the five year programme, students are integrated into three design education systems and join a strong international community. These diverse experiences provide them with different approaches to design, multi-national perspectives and sensitivity to cultural differences. The MEDes course encourages and enables students to develop their creativity and imagination, their design research and investigation skills, and their professional executive practice.