Even though the theoretical elements play a big role, consistently with the typical Fine Arts Academies artistic education, a relevant part of teaching at NABA develops through projects, experience and activities. We believe that through the constant exposition to different types and structures of project experience, as well as through an increasingly complexity of the projects the students can develop, by the end of the study programme, a personal method and language. It is for this reason that the main teaching mode sees the professors engaged in revising the students’ work, be it individual or team-based. Also the majority of the exams is based on projects and exercises.

For the learning by designing model to work, it is necessary for the students to understand how, especially in comparison with the typical education systems in otherparts of the world, university education in Italy requires high degrees of pro-activity, self-sufficiency and independence, in particular in what concerns the teaching of creative subjects. Whereas other levels of education see the biggest responsibility in the hands of the teachers, at NABA’s courses this responsibility is re-balanced, with a shift towards the students.

In other words, it is necessary for the students to actively take part into the learning process, by producing and submitting their contributions whether conceptual or project-based. The majority of the classroom time is spent on revisions. These can only prove useful if the students bring in high quality material and ideas for discussion. Simply attending classes and activities is not enough to grant positive outcomes: the students’ individual contribution is vital to their personal and professional development path. Every student is also responsible for never failing this contribution, that should be of the highest possible quality.

This aspect, typical of Fine Arts Academies and of the Italian university culture in general, may surprise those students who struggle to take up a proactive attitude, thus missing important learning occasions. It is therefore very important that students understand it at the very first stages of their courses so that they can make the most of their learning experience.

All the bachelor of arts of the School of Artistic Design for Business (Design, Fashion Design, and Graphic Design and Art Direction) share a first-semester course, namely Project Methodology or Foundation Design. Sharing this step of your study path allows you to become familiar with the common foundations of the three disciplines, before embarking on the specific subjects

Many of the bachelor of arts cover a rather broad disciplinary area, and allow the students to focus on a specialisation after the first year. Therefore, the second year includes many elective courses, that is different ones for each specialisation, alongside courses that, under the same name, deliver specific teaching for the different course specialisations. In the third year the number of specialisation-related subjects increases, with their peak in the last, highly specialized semester.

Aiming to establish the best foundations for an effective approach to the professional world upon completion of the study path, the second semester of the third year includes a “career planning” course - Entrepreneurship, created in close collaboration with the Career Service. This course will cover both general topics related to the management of professional activity, and industry-specific ones for each programme.

Another common element for all Bachelors of Arts at NABA is the Final Workshop, an important step of the last semester of the third year. First in Italy to organise this kind of activity, NABA has chosen to devote a number of hours to all final-exam projects (thesis projects). Throughout the Final Workshop, specifically suited to the thesis project, the students will receive planning and academic assistance to better develop their final projects.