Director of the Master's Programme in Aalto University: Lecturer, Head of Department Anna Heiskanen

The aim of the degree is to provide students with:

1. good theoretical and general knowledge of as well as artistic and practical expertise in their field of study as well as a general knowledge of the field of arts;
2. knowledge and skills needed for independent and demanding artistic work and for multidisciplinary collaboration as well as knowledge and skills needed to apply scientific knowledge and scientific methods;
3. knowledge and skills to perform, both independently and collaboratively, demanding expert, development and management duties of the field, and to cooperate internationally;
4. knowledge and skills needed for education leading to a Doctor of Arts (Art and Design) degree and for lifelong learning;
5. good language and communication skills for work in the field of arts and for international operations and cooperation.

The education shall be based on scientific research and artistic activity and professional practices in the field.

Re:Anima proposes a curriculum and didactic approach that balance artistic and technological dimensions, overcoming existing tensions between artistic and technology-driven programmes. Additionally, Re:Anima begins with an overarching concept that the animation creative process must be driven by cultural awareness and a critical appreciation of the world around us. The students take part in an international and diverse learning community with students and faculty from different cultures and from all over the world. Teamwork in animation is therefore multicultural and multigenerational. By bridging art, technology and cultural backgrounds, the fundamental innovation of the programme rests in building animation professionals who are international artists, technical collaborators and global citizens.

The programme takes an educational methodological approach through projects in development, and during the four semesters the students will acquire differentiated competences, explore diverse methods and approaches in the context of the learning units the curriculum is composed of, while at the same time working on their graduation animation projects. These projects can take the form of fiction, documentary or experimental animation projects of a various nature that combine techniques and multidisciplinary approaches.

This programme has been built with a strong focus in a number of core subjects that cover the essential areas of animation production and animation studies. These subjects are organized along four tracks:

• Artistic expression;
• Animation techniques and technologies;
• Animation production and management;
• History and Critical reception of animation.

Underlying these four tracks is a common system of workshops that convoke social topics with the goal of promoting critical and social awareness on the side of the students and inform their projects with content that strives for originality, creativity and innovation.

Each semester will focus on one specific format.

Each semester will focus on one specific format.

Semester 1 in LUCA School of Arts, Genk will focus on narrative and it will deal with all the formats and genres of fiction, from the short film to serialized TV content. Specific attention will be given to the development of narrative formats for differentiated audiences.

Semester 2 in Aalto University, Espoo/Helsinki, will be dedicated to expanded uses of animation and experimental approaches. The focus will be on technologies and CGI. 

Semester 3 in Lusófona University, Lisbon, will deal with documentary and aims to position students within the format of documentary from a historic and analytical perspective, namely as regards exploring the possibilities of its language and strategies for the critical representation of realities. 

In Semester 4, students will be allocated to the schools according to their area of interest (7 students per school) to complete their Master's thesis.