Category: News

CIRRUS against Russian invasion to Ukraine

Dear Cirrus community,

As a network promoting international exchange and mutual understanding within the design community, the terrible implications of the unprovoked invasion of Russian military forces of Ukraine war extends far and wide. In our member schools, we know that we have students and staff with ties to Ukraine and Russia alike. In the spirit of our commitment to working for international collaboration in the design education community, we strongly condemn the Russian military invasion of Ukraine, and express our solidarity with and support for all our network members impacted by the horrors of the ongoing war. 

With sincere wishes for strength, resilience and peace,

The Cirrus Board

PhD positions in AHO

The Oslo School of Architecture and Design (AHO) have three PhD positions available in the design field.

We have also a PhD-position where the Institute of Urbanism and Landscape collaborates with the Institute of Design.

CIRRUS/Nordplus call for projects 2022

CALL for project applications to Nordplus Higher Education Programme through CIRRUS network. “Enhancing educational cooperation and preparing pupils, students and adults for a greener future” is highlighted by Nordplus.

DEADLINE: January 21, 2022, to be sent to sandra.mell@artun.ee
(Nordplus deadline is Feb 1, 2022).

We kindly ask your project descriptions along with the budget file in order to insert it in the application system of Nordplus. Please use Nordplus Handbook or turn to CIRRUS coordinator or your international coordinator at home to find out more.

The type of projects that we are waiting for are:
1. INTENSIVE COURSES (please use the forms below)
Download application form 
Download budget form 
2. JOINT STUDY PROGRAMMES and DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS (please use the forms below)
Download application form JSP
Download application form DP
Download budget form JDP and DPs

MORE IN DETAIL (copied from NP handbook):

Intensive courses
Nordplus Higher Education awards grants for intensive courses lasting between one week (five working days) and one month. Courses may take place during term time or in the summer by way of short courses, symposiums, master classes or workshops. Intensive courses must include students and academic staff from at least three different countries. The courses must yield ECTS points and must be recognised as part of the students’ degree. The number of ECTS points should be stated in the application.
PhD students may act as teachers on intensive courses. They are not eligible for a grant if they are students in the programme. The same intensive course can be granted Nordplus funding for three consecutive years but annual applications must be submitted. It is recommended that the hosting institution is rotated.

Examples of past CIRRUS intensive courses: 
Urban Gaming
Nature Design and Innovation. Imprint
Traditions and Innovation

Joint study programmes
Nordplus Higher Education awards grants for development of joint study
programmes.
Nordplus joint study programmes are defined as follows:
– Programmes are full-degree study programmes established according
to national legislation.
– Programmes lead to a degree recognised by national authorities.
– Degree certificates with a Diploma Supplement are issued according to
national legislation.
– Mobility is integrated into the programme setup.
– Programmes are developed jointly, and all courses and study units
should be approved by all participating parties.
– The collaborative venture is governed by a signed agreement defining
its aims as well as the roles of the participating parties.
The same joint study programme can be granted Nordplus funding for three consecutive years but annual applications must be submitted. Joint study programmes are complex processes. HEIs can combine Nordplus and Nordic Master grants in various ways. More information on Nordic Master is available on www.nordicmaster.org. The website consists
also of many useful handbooks and guides on joint programmes.

Development projects
Nordplus Higher Education offers grants for innovative development projects within the field of Higher Education.
Apart from joint curriculum planning and joint
modules, projects may focus on issues such as:
– Collaboration with the labour market
– Quality assurance
– The dissemination and use of results achieved by networks and projects
– The development of collaborations with other institutions in the public
or private sectors as well as non-governmental organisations (NGOs)
within Higher Education
– The development of new teaching methods.
The same project can be granted Nordplus funding for three consecutive years but annual applications must be submitted.

CIRRUS board elections. Period: 2022-2025. Deadline to apply: February 15, 2022

CIRRUS welcomes applications for CIRRUS board membership for the period of 2022 – 2025.*

Do you want to work with us in the CIRRUS board in strengthening Nordic-Baltic collaborations in design education?

Submit your motivation statement along with a nomination from a member school and a letter of support from your home institution to network coordinator sandra.mell@artun.ee due application deadline: February 15, 2022.

About the board (excerpt from CIRRUS network agreement)

  • The board of the network comprises of 3-5 faculty members from the CIRRUS institutions and is elected every three years at the network meeting.
  • The board is responsible for running the network together with the secretariat (general network coordinator). The responsibilities of the board are: strategic planning and leadership, policy making of the network and beyond, planning of the network activities, cooperation and guidelines to the secretariat.
  •  A board member must have the possibility (time and resources) to actively work with Cirrus matters, and also  be prepared to meet in person twice a year, at other times the board meetings are carried out in e-formats.
  • The decision making body is the annual CIRRUS network meeting. Meanwhile the board of the network is leading the network.
  • The board members may be nominated by home institutions or other member institutions. The board member must have full support from the leadership of the home institution.
  • The person aiming to become a member of the board must submit a motivation statement along with the nomination to the secretariat by the time announced in the call for .
  • The board will constitute one of the board members as the Chair of the network.
    * The future possible board person should – if possible – be present in person at the whole network meeting in Riga Art Academy, Latvia, between March 23 – 25, 2022, and available to meet for the constituting CIRRUS board meeting in Riga on the afternoon of Friday, March 25, 2022.

new CIRRUS express course at Art Academy of Latvia / Ritual 26 August – 4 September, 2021

RITUAL (ceramics wood firing workshop)

Teaching period:  26.08 – 04.09.2021(26th Aug. – Arrival, 4th Sept. – Departure)

Teacher(s): LAA Prof. Dainis Lesins,  asoc.prof.Dainis Pundurs, asoc.prof. Ainars Rimicans, asoc.prof. Liga Skarina, asoc.prof. Eugenia Loginova, lect. Kaspars Geiduks

ECTS:  1,5

Number of available places for CIRRUS students: 2

Level: BA / MA 

Requirements: to prepare two project drawings for your art objects upon the arrival. 

Your individual working tools and work clothes shall be taken along with you.

Application deadline: 02.08.2021. The results will be announced on 04.08.2021.

How to apply: 

Please send a short motivation letter (mention also your full name, home university, study level, contacts) and some photos of your art works (could be portfolio, electronic version or web link) to the e-mail address: sympo.lv@gmail.com

Grant: 330 EUR travel (Iceland 660 EUR) + 70 EUR weekly allowance

Course description: 

The course is envisaged as an international ceramic symposium, during which an intensive programme will be carried out. Programme includes lectures, workshops, professional practice, wood kiln firing – high temperature wood firing, attendance of museums, galleries and the participation at the POP-UP exhibition on the end of the symposium. 

Assignment: This year’s theme of the symposium “Ritual” invites artists to create sculptural works (H about 30-50 cm) using ceramic material, but find new, non-traditional shape, thus paying attention to the multifunctionality of the material as well as the artistic expressions. 

Envisaged results: students will obtain the knowledge in the field of ceramics materials and woodfiring technologies by practically developing the project in ceramics. The project works will be displayed at the Pop-Up exhibition.

Additional information:

Venue of the symposium  –  “KG Wood Firing Research Centre” in a splendid and picturesque Latvian countryside – Koknese (100km from Riga). 

Accommodations and catering are on your own expenses. Additional information about our schedule and hostel in Koknese will be provided later for accepted participants. Participation fee 30 Euro is compulsory for all the participants. It covers costs of working materials and firing.

CIRRUS express course by VDA

CIRRUS EXPRESS COURSE

Title of course: Animocene. Animation in the times of Anthropocene

Objective of the workshop is to critically reflect on the narrative strategies, design conventions and largely consequentialist-moralist storytelling currently prevalent in a wide array of artistic forms commonly associated with animation. In this 5-day course we will engage in analysis of selected animations and will attempt to articulate the building blocks for the non-anthropocentric (if possible) animation acts. We will explore the routes of departure from the 1st person storytelling (my suffering, happened to me and etc.) strategies and explore the possibilities of narration from different vantage points. As speculative in its nature as it is, this enterprise envisions concrete practical remedies against the wide spread animation conventions that lead viewer to the moments of subliminal “wow” or cognitive “aha”.

The main focus areas of the workshop are:

  1. Consequentiality in storytelling (think of Chekhov’s Gun) what world-model it offers and what phenomena it overlooks.
  2. Aesthetic conventions of Disney and Anime, what inherent values and limitations both posses.   
  3. Shift from aesthetics to ethics. Anatomy of moralist messaging in animation.
  4. Non-personal storytelling. Documentary animation
  5. Aleatoric strategies, from Mozart to Baldessari to code.
  6. Flow of consciousness technique in animation.

Teaching period: September 6-10.2021

Teacher: Prof. Zilvinas Lilas

ECTS: 3

Number of students: 12

Number of available place for CIRRUS/KUNO students: 6

Level: BA/MA

Application deadline: Friday, 30.07.2021 18:00 (CET)

How to apply: Submit a letter of interest including a brief description of problematic you  would like to engage in during the workshop, and a link to the online portfolio.

Location: Vilnius Academy of Arts, Vilnius Lithuania

The outcome of the workshop is expected to be development of ideas for a subsequent animated project. This could be a storyboard, an animatic or sketches of the character design.

Contact info for any inquiry and portfolio submission (please send a letter describing your goals during the workshop and a link to an easily accessible online portfolio by 18:00 (CET) Friday, July 30th, 2021) to zilvinas.lilas@vda.lt

Short course description:

a 5-day expanded animation workshop lead by Prof. Lilas

SCHEDULE

Monday, 6 September — 

9.00 -10.00 Introduction to the workshop, short presentation of the staff, key concepts and technical framework of the forthcoming activities.

10.00 to 13.00 watching and discussing examples of animated artworks.

14.00 to 18.00 H – Open ended. Brainstorming of the key concepts for the individual projects.

Tuesday, 7 September —

10.00 to 13.00 Field trip to Vilnius old town. Observing space around you. Notational strategies

14.00 to 18.00 H – Open ended. Discussing individual ideas. Brainstorming of the key concepts for the individual projects.

Wednesday, 8 September —

10.00 to 13.00 watching and discussing examples of animated artworks.

14.00 to 18.00 H – Open ended. Discussing individual ideas. Brainstorming of the key concepts for the individual projects.

Thursday, 9 September—

10.00 to 18.00 H – Open ended. Finalizing idea proposals.

Friday, 10 September—

12:00 to 15:00 presentation of ideas. Final discussion

Grant for selected students: 330 EUR travel /660 Iceland + 70 EUR weekly allowance.