International Student Reviews
What international students like about L'École de design Nantes Atlantique
Find out what the students and alumni of L'École de design Nantes Atlantique think about the school and its programs (Bachelor's program and Master's program)!
"The program brought together students from across the globe, creating a truly dynamic and multicultural learning environment. It allowed me to explore new approaches and ideas."
"It allows us to confront different cultures, to empathize, to facilitate communication and open-mindedness so that we can work together on projects."
"Working with international students is a very enriching experience. It's a good way to see how students from different cultural backgrounds approach the design problem."
Study in an international class
Venturing out of your comfort zone, experiencing a new culture, assimilating other codes... The international experience offered by L'École de design Nantes Atlantique allows future designers to combine openness to others, curiosity, pragmatism and interculturality.
In a globalized world, where the stakes often transcend borders, the school gives you an immersive experience into the reality of design in France.
French and international students have the opportunityto experience interculturality and to place their design practice in a strong international context through contact with students of different nationalities by joining one of our programs taught in international classes.
The international class has the peculiarity of bringing together in each group students of different nationalities and backgrounds and interculturality is central.
Evolve as a future designer in an international class means:
- Follow a program taught in English,
- Cooperate with international students on group projects supervised by professional designers,
- Work in a cross-cultural context.
"We are working with designers from different domains that can help each other in their own specialties, and this is really rich."
"Interacting with people from different design fields gave me a good idea of how to integrate many different design ideas."
"The mix of these cultures will help us discover ourselves and enlarge our point of view and perspective."
"You learn a lot about yourself and others at the same time. It's a valuable part of a designer's career."
"I was able to practice my own projects with a multicultural and global context. "
Nantes, an ideal city for students in France
L'École de design Nantes Atlantique is situated in Nantes, one of the major French cities. It is located in the heart of the creative district, on the 'Nantes' island', in a new building with a unique architecture. The 'Nantes' island' is an effervescent site, emblematic of the city, which hosts many economic and cultural actors (startups, artists' collectives, exhibition halls, theaters and concert halls, bars and restaurants). With nearly 5,000 students, this district has become a creative campus of international reference.
The city is recognized for its economic dynamism but also for the excellence and influence of its higher education courses, which makes it a leading national and international hub of activity.
The cultural life of Nantes is abundant:
- The Machines de l'Île (and its famous Great Elephant) - an exhibition and events space open all year round - are located right next to the buildings of L'École de design Nantes Atlantique;
- The "Voyage à Nantes" lets you discover works of art in the public space;
- Major events also punctuate the daily life of the people of Nantes, such as La Folle Journée, Hip OPsession, Les Rendez-vous de l'Erdre and the Scopitone festival...
- Many museums such as the Museum of Arts, the Museum of Natural History, the Musée Dobrée or the Château des Ducs de Bretagne
Nantes is located about 50 km from the Atlantic coast and 2 hours from Paris by high-speed train. The city has many parks and gardens (including the magnificent Jardin des Plantes in the heart of the city or the amazing Japanese Garden on the Île de Versailles), waterways, historic buildings, bicycle paths...
"I enjoyed the atmosphere here in the city and I love one of its famous landmarks, the Nantes Elephant. "
"My favorite place is 'Les Machines de l'Ile' with the mechanical elephant. I always take pictures and work around this place"
"The city is really focused on an artistic and cultural approach with a lot of exhibitions, cultural spaces, events, as well as a great motivation for entrepreneurship and business. "
"I like the richness of the social culture. When I want to go out, there's people everywhere and it's really easy to get to these places with the public transportation."
"What I especially like is the free public transport on weekends. The city is very compact so you have a lot of different services in a small area. "
"In Nantes, there is a high population of students and the city gives a lot of facilities for them. It is easy to get around Nantes because of the public transportation."
"In terms of transportation, I usually come to school by bike. I really like the road when I come to the school."
"It's easier to travel around Europe from Nantes. I've been to Italy, the Czech Republic and Denmark. I've also been to Paris and the beach at 'Pornichet', which is only 55 minutes away."
A professional approach: learning by doing
L'École de design Nantes Atlantique prepares its students for the world of work. Thanks to project-based teaching, students collaborate with companies throughout their training, through creative and participative workshops or prospective studies.
L'École de design Nantes Atlantique works with a wide network of French and international partner companies and institutions. It forges educational and professional partnerships with over 80 companies each year.
The school also encourages its students to take part in design competitions to present to the general public projects that they have developed in a given timeframe, working within specific constraints.
Most courses are taught by working professionals. The school also regularly organises meetings and conferences with design experts and graduates of the school, who have gone on to careers all over the world.
"We have professional design teachers who give us an insight into their experiences, but who also help us with the projects."
"It's a school that really focuses on practice and innovation. I manage design projects with the company from briefing to final presentation."
"I had to do an internship and it's a good opportunity to get into a professional context. This school really pushes you towards the professional side."
"I needed a school that could help me to create a better connection between what I study and how do I apply it to the market. "
A unique teaching approach
The designer's profession can take a thousand and one forms, because it's a know-how built on a methodological foundation and on a unique way of thinking and innovating.
More than a discipline, design is a vision, a mindset and a method that can be applied to any project in companies and organizations.
This approach makes it possible to innovate and find solutions to complex problems from the user's point of view.
User experience (UX) has become an essential skill, as designers must now think about the entire user journey, from the interface to the overall experience of the product or space.
The school also offers its students the opportunity to work in multi-disciplinary teams. The school's Master's program in design is structured around a 3-year undergraduate studies that trains students in a major (space design, product design, graphic design, UX design) and an associated specialty, which they will continue to pursue throughout their Master's program, as they advance towards the strategic dimension of design. The teaching of majors and specialties is continued and reinforced through practical experience in each subject of the Master's program, through projects, seminars, workshops and masterclasses. This also means that in the master's cycle, students find themselves in hybrid classes mixing students trained in product design, graphic design, space design and UX design.
"You can find here teams of designers, product designers, graphic designers, information designers… You are working with them and that enriches your skills as a designer. "
"This school teaches you some really cool methodologies, that are really helpful. "
"We're lucky at school to learn a methodology that allows us to move from one project to the next with equal measures of conviction and success"
"The program is very wide open because it's very based on the projects and it allows someone to explore all the ways of thinking as a designer. "
"L'École de design Nantes Atlantique teaches us to become very multidisciplinary, very autonomous and very versatile people."
"We have amazing studios. Everything we need to bring our designs to life and create prototypes and models."
"The workshops can help you to learn a lot of different skills, to use different machines. There are a lot of teachers there."
"The workshop teachers are very kind. Whenever I had questions, I asked them and they patiently answered them."
"One of the main features of the school is the workshop. I've used it for laser and video projects."
"Teachers are passionate. They always encourage us when we lack confidence and give us some good advice. In the workshops, they provide us with almost everything we need to build models at every stage of the design process."
For 25 years, L'École de design Nantes Atlantique has enabled future French designers to train abroad and future international designers to train in Nantes.
Postgraduate studies / Master's level degree 'International Design Strategy / Le Studio France' to carry out design projects in a multicultural context.
One-year in an international class to validate the DN MADE, National Diploma in Fine Arts, Crafts and Design (Bachelor's degree), a state recognized undergraduate degree.