International Winter Schools

UX and CULTURAL HERITAGE WINTER SCHOOL — MILAN, ITALY

POLI.design Winter School 2027

40 Hours | 2 Weeks January 18 – January 29, 2027 · Milan, Italy

What Is the UX and Cultural Heritage Winter School?

What happens when heritage institutions stop asking visitors to simply look — and start designing for them to participate?

UX and Cultural Heritage is a two-week intensive UX design winter school in Milan at POLI.design, the design-led institution of Politecnico di Milano, that brings museology, heritage studies, and UX methodology into direct dialogue. This immersive program trains a new kind of design profile: one able to turn cultural narratives into engaging, accessible visitor experiences.

The course moves along two core themes. The first is Heritage Interpretation & Cultural Institutions — how heritage institutions are shifting from preservation to participation, through storytelling strategies, digital conservation methods, and accessible visitor engagement. The second is UX & Interaction Design for Cultural Heritage — how user-centered design, multisensory and immersive experiences, gamification, and digital accessibility transform how visitors interact with and interpret cultural content.

Open to students and young professionals from design, humanities, and heritage-related backgrounds alike, this program is built on the idea that the future of cultural institutions depends on people who can think like both curators and designers.

What Will I Discover?

The course unfolds across two interconnected themes, each explored through lectures, workshops, and direct engagement with real cultural sites.

Heritage Interpretation & Cultural Institutions Understand how heritage institutions are evolving from preservation to participation. Explore storytelling strategies, digital conservation methods, and the design choices that make heritage accessible to broader, more diverse audiences.

UX & Interaction Design for Cultural Heritage Discover how user-centered design, multisensory and immersive experiences, gamification, and digital accessibility reshape the way visitors interact with — and interpret — cultural content.

How Does It Work?

This is a 40-hour intensive program delivered over two weeks, combining theory, practice, and direct engagement with cultural institutions.

Lectures and Masterclasses Expert lectures from Politecnico di Milano faculty, complemented by sessions with academic coordinators and practitioners working across museology, heritage studies, and interaction design.

Field Visits to Cultural Institutions Guided visits to key cultural sites give participants direct exposure to how leading institutions are rethinking visitor engagement and interpretation strategies in practice.

Team-Based Final Project Working in teams, participants design an original prototype that enhances visitor engagement and interpretation at a real heritage site. The program closes with a final presentation of all projects — a strong, portfolio-ready outcome.

What Will I Learn?

By the end of the Winter School, you’ll be able to:

• Critically analyse how cultural institutions are evolving from preservation-focused to participation-focused models, and the storytelling and digital conservation strategies driving that shift.
• Apply user-centered design principles to develop visitor experiences that improve accessibility and engagement within heritage settings.
• Design multisensory and immersive interactions that use gamification and digital tools to deepen visitor interpretation of cultural content.
• Evaluate and integrate interdisciplinary methods from museology, heritage studies, and UX into a coherent design proposal for a cultural space.
• Develop and present a team-based prototype that reinterprets a real heritage narrative through interactive, visitor-centered design.

What Will I Bring Home?

At the end of the program, every participant receives:

• A POLI.design Certificate of Participation
• A portfolio-ready final project developed during the course
• A Letter of Recommendation awarded to the team behind the most outstanding project
• An international network of peers, academic coordinators, and design professionals

Who Can Apply to the Cultural Heritage and UX Winter School?

Cultural Heritage and UX is open to students over 16 years old and recent graduates. A minimum English proficiency of B1 is required. No specific design background is necessary — the interdisciplinary spirit of the course welcomes participants from heritage, humanities, and design backgrounds alike.

When Does the Cultural Heritage and UX Winter School Happen?

Course Dates: January 18 – January 29, 2027 Attendance: Mandatory for at least 75% of program activities to receive the POLI.design certificate of participation. Application Deadline: December 18, 2026 (registration is completed upon full payment)

How Much Does the Cultural Heritage and UX Winter School Cost?

€2,300 (including 22% VAT) per student, payable in a single installment through the dedicated payment options in the registration form.

What’s Included:

• Initial coffee break and final aperitivo
• Entry tickets to all visit venues
• Public or private transport to field visits (depending on location)
• Tutoring support throughout the program
• POLI.design certificate upon completion
• Letter of recommendation for students with the most outstanding projects
• Final project outcome presentation
• Official Invitation Letter for visa application (if needed)

By completing the payment, you agree to the terms and conditions.

Why Milan, Why POLI.design?

Milan is a city where design and cultural heritage constantly intersect — from world-class museums to historic institutions actively reinventing how they engage the public. POLI.design, founded by Politecnico di Milano — one of Europe’s top technical universities — gives you direct access to expert faculty, real institutional partners, and a city where heritage isn’t just preserved, it’s actively reimagined.

Buy now

VISUAL NARRATIVES: SHOP WINDOW DESIGN WINTER SCHOOL — MILAN, ITALY

POLI.design Winter School 2027

40 Hours | 2 Weeks January 18 – January 29, 2027 · Milan, Italy

What Is the Visual Narratives Winter School?

What if a shop window could be read not as a display of products, but as a stage — a threshold between city and architecture, commerce and culture?

Visual Narratives: Shop Windows as Italian Design Storytelling is a two-week intensive shop window design winter school in Milan at POLI.design, the design-led institution of Politecnico di Milano, that explores the shop window as an urban diorama — a temporary micro-environment rich in meaning, atmosphere, and message. Transparent yet not immediately accessible, it stages visual narratives that go far beyond product display.

Traditionally a commercial tool, the shop window has become a vehicle for cultural communication, a manifesto, a site of experimentation, and even a medium for social and political statements. Its hybrid nature makes it a genuinely transdisciplinary design object — connecting art, architecture, fashion, design, theatre, sociology, UX, and visual culture in a single, street-facing format.

Open to students and young professionals from all creative backgrounds, this program is built on the conviction that some of the richest design thinking happens at the smallest scale.

What Will I Discover?

Thanks to its contained scale and immediate relationship with the street, the shop window offers a unique laboratory for testing techniques, narratives, and sensory experiences. The course combines practice and theory through creative exercises, lectures on history and design, and case studies from Italian and international culture.

History & Design of the Shop Window Trace the evolution of the shop window from commercial device to cultural medium, and understand its role across art, architecture, fashion, and visual culture.

Case Studies from Italian and International Contexts Examine how designers, brands, and institutions have used shop windows as sites of experimentation, manifesto, and social commentary.

Narrative & Spatial Design Practice Apply storytelling, atmosphere, and sensory design techniques directly to the shop window format, working hands-on with its scale and constraints.

How Does It Work?

This is a 40-hour intensive workshop delivered over two weeks, balancing theory, critical analysis, and creative making.

Lectures and Masterclasses Expert lectures on the history, theory, and design of the shop window, delivered by Politecnico di Milano faculty and complemented by case studies from Italian design culture.

Field Visits Across Milan Guided visits to shop windows and street-facing installations across the city, observed as designers rather than shoppers — each one a source of inspiration and research material for project work.

Team-Based Final Project In teams, participants design an original shop window concept that integrates storytelling, atmosphere, and user experience. The program closes with a final presentation — a strong, portfolio-ready outcome.

What Will I Learn?

By the end of the Winter School, you’ll be able to:

• Critically analyse the shop window as a transdisciplinary design device, understanding its historical evolution and multifaceted cultural, artistic, and communicative functions.
• Apply narrative, spatial, and visual strategies to design shop windows that integrate storytelling, atmosphere, and user experience.
• Evaluate and integrate interdisciplinary approaches from art, architecture, fashion, design, sociology, and psychology into shop window concepts and installations.
• Develop experimental design proposals exploring innovative construction techniques, materials, and sensory experiences in urban contexts.
• Critically reflect on the shop window’s role as a medium for cultural expression and social commentary, envisioning its future potential within contemporary and emerging design scenarios.

What Will I Bring Home?

At the end of the program, every participant receives:

• A POLI.design Certificate of Participation
• A portfolio-ready final project developed during the course
• A Letter of Recommendation awarded to the team behind the most outstanding project
• An international network of peers, academic coordinators, and design professionals

Who Can Apply to the Visual Narratives Winter School?

Visual Narratives is open to students over 16 years old and recent graduates. A minimum English proficiency of B1 is required. No specific design background is necessary — the interdisciplinary spirit of the course welcomes participants from art, architecture, fashion, and beyond.

When Does the Visual Narratives Winter School Happen?

Course Dates: January 18 – January 29, 2027 Attendance: Mandatory for at least 75% of program activities to receive the POLI.design certificate of participation. Application Deadline: December 18, 2026 (registration is completed upon full payment)

How Much Does the Visual Narratives Winter School Cost?

€2,300 (including 22% VAT) per student, payable in a single installment through the dedicated payment options in the registration form.

What’s Included:

• Initial breakfast and final aperitivo
• Entry tickets to all visit venues
• Public or private transport to field visits (depending on location)
• Tutoring support throughout the program
• POLI.design certificate upon completion
• Letter of recommendation for students with the most outstanding projects
• Final project outcome presentation
• Official Invitation Letter for visa application (if needed)

By completing the payment, you agree to the terms and conditions.

Why Milan, Why POLI.design?

Milan is a city whose shop windows are themselves design landmarks — from historic ateliers to contemporary flagship stores that treat the street as a stage. POLI.design, founded by Politecnico di Milano — one of Europe’s top technical universities — puts you steps away from the city’s most iconic windows, with direct access to faculty who study exactly this intersection of art, commerce, and urban culture.