In recent years, there has been an increasing hyper-specialisation of skills related to the world of design and architecture.
While this trend has led to greater performance and quality in architectural design, it has also multiplied the degrees of complexity, interferences and challenges in the design process.
Professional liaison figures are therefore increasingly valuable: designers with skills related to all dimensions of the architectural project, to guide the process from the concept phase to the construction site.
The course in Design Management was created precisely for this reason. An ambitious training project by Yacademy and the Luigi Negrelli Foundation to train a new generation of project managers: not mere technicians, but real leaders, conscious of the psychological and relational implications behind working groups, and capable of overcoming the challenges of contemporary design.
Through an in-depth study of the ‘soft skills’, along with the necessary tools for management, students will become familiar with the strategies and methodologies at the basis of design management. The course consists of 80 hours of frontal teaching, 32 hours of workshops and numerous contributions from renowned professionals.
At the end of the training course, Yacademy placement office will guarantee each student an internship/collaboration proposal within the partner firms.
Course info
15 In person
5 Online
Bologna
2.6.2025 - 8.8.2025
3 days/weekSeptember 2025 - November 2025
2,900 € + VAT
Online6,700 € + VAT *
In person3
Full coverage of the enrollment fee for the most outstanding candidatesTeaching modules & Workshops
Leadership models
Gruppality, psychology and social groups managementProblem solving 1
Problem management and generative creativityProblem solving 2
Field experiencesThe Communication Dimension
Brain, language and communicationDecision Making
Psychology of decision-making processesPresentation to the client
Story-telling of the architectural projectProject analysis
Preliminary process studyPlanning and monitoring activities
Defining timelines and budgetDefining the team and the professionals
Project as team-workThe professional figure of the project manager
Legal responsibility and deontologySustainability in construction
"Green Wave" from designing to constructingDesign management and Sustainability
The role of the design manager in sustainable projectsAssessing the environmental impact of processes
Models and strategies to measure the carbon footprint of the projectSpecial lectures and critiques
Brain, language, communication
Leadership models
Project management on the building site: BIG in San Pellegrino
Design management and urbanistics: the case of New York City
Design Management and business development
The artistic direction of the project
Design management on a big scale
Project management and sustainability
Artistic supervision during construction
Through the process
Design workshop
Paolo Cresci / ARUP
The project workshop will be an opportunity to put the various key aspects in the management of an architectural process to the test in an empirical manner, with a particular focus - in relation to the tutor’s experience - on integrating sustainability data at every stage of the process. The workshop will therefore consist of a series of simulations that will give students the opportunity to deal with typical situations that design managers have to face, through playful and experiential methods, but also through the assignment of specific tasks. In particular, simulations will concern the following:
1. meeting with the client and project briefing;
2. identifying the professionals needed for the project;
3. definition of budgets and timelines;
4. presentation to the client;
5. presentation to the press;
6. team management and conflict management;
7. definition of environmental impact strategies.
The workshop will involve many different professionals for the simulations, including various Yacademy partners and teaching staff, as well as the workshop tutor.
Construction workshop
Construction is a fundamental step in architecture. For this reason, YACademy offers its students the opportunity to participate in the process of producing their own ideas. Thus, the students will gain practical experience on construction sites and, above all, the authorship of projects built for excellent commissions, destined for a major media echo and capable of defining a turning point in their professional career.
Placement
At the end of teaching modules and workshop, YACademy’s Placement office will guarantee every student an internship or collaboration proposal in one of our partner studios.
Teachers
Admission
Requirements
Students or graduates in Architecture/Design/Engineering can apply to the course. The commission, based on the assessment of the application, may admit students with different qualifications.
Registration
To apply, it is necessary to register online and submit a Curriculum Vitae, a Portfolio, and a Motivational Letter. Moreover, it is necessary to pay the administration fee (60€ + VAT). The best 20 candidates will be admitted to the course according to the rules.
The administration fee payment does not bind the student to purchase the course.
Scholarship
By applying for the course, the students automatically become eligible to obtain a scholarship: one will be granted to each of the best 3+2* applicants for each course, consistently with the Selection Committee's evaluation. Therefore, it is not necessary to make specific actions to apply for a scholarship. The scholarship covers the entire enrollment fee - regardless of the type of attendance chosen -, but does not cover the administration fee (73,20€) that has to be paid in order to complete the application process successfully.
* Thanks to the support of the Luigi Negrelli Foundation, Yacademy will assign (2) two additional scholarships, covering the full cost of enrollment, for those registered in the professional Order of Engineers of the Province of Trento. Download the rules for more information.
Timeline
Complying with deadlines is a fundamental requirement to take part in the course. All students are encouraged to pay the utmost attention to the timeline and to complete each phase in advance.
Applications opening
Applications deadline
Publication of the provisional ranking
Beginning of second-round admissions
Enrollment fee payment deadline for students admitted according to the provisional ranking
Publication of the official ranking (including second-round admitted students)
Lessons start
Download
Make sure you have downloaded the course brochure, from which you will be able to obtain any information about YACademy, as well as every single detail on how to access and enrol in the courses.
Course Brochure
English
Brochure Corso
Italiano
Download the 2023/24 internships report
Find out all the statistics and placement methodology for the year 2023/24: 39% of students entered Pritzker studios.
Partners
To each one of them, many thanks from YACademy staff and students.