
Graduate Programme on Sustainable Cities
Madrid, Spain
DURATION
1 Years
LANGUAGES
English
PACE
Full time
APPLICATION DEADLINE
Request application deadline
EARLIEST START DATE
Jan 2025
TUITION FEES
EUR 52,000 / per course
STUDY FORMAT
On-Campus
Introduction
The future of our society is the future of our cities—they are our greatest invention.
This institute, in a time of climate change, is addressed to those who wish, through practice or education, to improve the quality of life in cities worldwide. In that spirit, the course will combine practical on-site experience with academic input from the foundation’s network of international experts.
The course begins with tools and skills that can be used to address wide-ranging issues of cities, such as leadership, advocacy, communication, presentation, diagramming, mapping, and the understanding and interpretation of data. These could be applicable to cities from Asia, the Middle East, South and North America to Africa, Europe and Oceania as well as informal settlements and suburbia.
The curriculum then narrows down to three pilot cities that scholars will visit to engage directly with their planners and managers. For study purposes, neighborhoods have been selected in each city to raise awareness of the issues that affect the living standards for those who live or visit there.
Several of these many issues will be distilled to create a small number of well-defined project assignments which will be addressed by the scholars in a multidisciplinary approach. The scholars will use the most up-to-date digital tools in the quest to improve a sustainable quality of life.
Towards the end of the year, the scholars will present their findings to the city administration and there will be an emphasis on advocacy and presentation skills. On the basis that historically cities learn from each other, it will be important for the scholars to explore the relevance of their conclusions in the wider context of global cities.
The course is like an hourglass; starting wide in its scope, then narrowing down to focus on tangible issues that can be quantified and addressed, and finally, opening up to a wider debate.
Norman Foster
President, Norman Foster Foundation
Program Features
Learning
Scholars will train with advanced tools that are applicable to diverse types of global cities.
Network
Scholars will be introduced to the Norman Foster Foundation’s network of experts, practitioners, civic leaders and Alumni.
On-site Experience
During the first year, scholars will focus and work on three European cities. They will engage directly with city leaders, administrators and communities. Future editions of the programme will dive into pilot case studies in Africa, Asia, North and South America and Oceania.
Gallery
Ideal Students
This programme is for those seeking a holistic approach to the future design and management of cities through research, practical experience and interdisciplinary studies.
It is open to all graduate and postgraduate scholars, as well as professionals who have demonstrated a record of excellence, for consideration by the NFI Selection Committee.
Aimed at
Individuals with expertise in diverse fields such as:
Anthropology, Architecture, Arts, Computer Science, Construction, Data Analytics, Design, Economy, Engineering, Environment, Geography, History, Law, Mathematics, Public Policy, Sociology, Transportation, Urbanism, and other related disciplines.
Curriculum
The 36-week programme consists of three stages—Foundations, Transformations, Interventions—combined with the development of communication, presentation, leadership and advocacy skills.
Stage 1 - Foundations
Foundations consists of an in-depth study of the concepts and processes necessary to understand a city, from its history, governance, ethics and metrics that define sustainable cities.
Stage 2 - Transformations
Transformations studies the six layers at which a city could be interrogated: climate & natural environments, networks & mobility, planning & building, resources & energy, economy & social activity, and culture & the arts.
Stage 3 - Interventions
Interventions is dedicated to testing the proposed strategies for sustainable improvement in each field to subsequently formalize a strategy for each pilot neighbourhood.
Program Admission Requirements
Show your commitment and readiness for Grad school by taking the GRE - the most broadly accepted exam for graduate programs internationally.