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Ethical Leadership : A New Frontier for Design

The Cumulus Association will celebrate its 35th anniversary during the Cumulus Spring Conference in Nantes (France), titled « Ethical Leadership: A New Frontier for Design. » The conference is organized by L’École de Design Nantes Atlantique and will take place from June 3 to 7, 2025.

Cumulus Association

The Cumulus Association will celebrate its 35th anniversary during the Cumulus Spring Conference in Nantes. It is the leading global association of art and design education and research. Cumulus represents a dynamic ecosystem for internationalization and global mobility, knowledge exchange, and collaboration in art and design pedagogy, research, and practice. The 395 Cumulus member institutions are leading the way in art and design education around the world. Originating from 71 countries, they demonstrate the importance of collaboration in a 21st century higher education landscape that is increasingly complex and global.

L’École de design
Nantes Atlantique

Founded in 1988, L’École de design Nantes Atlantique is a partner institution of the Nantes St-Nazaire Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Our institution operates under the authority of the Ministry of Higher Education and is an associate partner institution of Nantes Université, with support from local authorities, including Nantes Métropole and the Pays de la Loire regional authority.

L’École de Design Nantes Atlantique is situated on the Île de Nantes in the heart of the Quartier de la Création. This unique architectural setting fosters creativity, learning, and global awareness.

As a research and innovation centre, the school has created five Design Labs, platforms for research, training and innovation through design, supervised by 350 teachers and professionals :

Care Design Lab (health, care and social innovation)
City Design Lab (urban and territorial change)
Digital Design Lab (digital innovation)
Food Design Lab (new eating habits and the food system)
Media Design Lab (media, information, communication and entertainment)

By grouping all of its activities on the same site, in particular its research and innovation laboratories, the school has strengthened its ability to respond to the challenges of today’s world: changes in lifestyles and practices, new services brought about by digital technology, changes in cities, ageing populations and attention to others, new economic models, environmental and social issues, etc.

This unique site offers a working area of 11,600 m2, including more than 1,000 m2 dedicated to manufacturing spaces and digital workshops. Structured around an agora, a central space for socialising, the environmentally designed building is located in the heart of a creative eco-system.

Fortified by its 1000 corporate partners and 4000 alumni, l’École de Design Nantes Atlantique is historically linked to the professional world. It prides itself on its project-based teaching methods and offers a wide range of opportunities for companies to recruit people who are particularly sensitive to technological, societal and environmental changes: internships, apprenticeships, prospective studies, workshops, projects in partnership with companies on real-life issues, professional designers as speakers and lecturers.

To promote the cultural and creative development of its students, L’École de design Nantes Atlantique has chosen to expand to the four corners of the world. It is located in Pune (India), Shanghai (China), São Paulo (Brazil), Montreal (Canada), Cotonou (Benin) with Africa Studio. It has also developed partnerships with more than a hundred universities around the world to encourage its students to immerse themselves in the international scene. Each year, our international programs welcome students of some 40 nationalities to the campus.