Supporting design excellence through scholarships and masterclasses aimed at inspiring the next generation of industrial designers, fashion designers and architects.
Each year, one undergraduate or postgraduate Industrial Design, Fashion and Textiles or Architecture student is awarded a scholarship for the opportunity to travel to Milan, Italy to take part in advanced work experience or an internship with top Milanese designers or to undertake an academic exchange.
Recipients of the Milan-Melbourne Exchange Program Scholarship are selected based on academic performance and eligible students are contacted directly to apply upon confirmation of an exchange period at a partner institution or internship in Milan. To discuss this exchange experience and your eligibility for the Scholarship, please contact an academic staff member in Industrial Design, Fashion and Textiles or Architecture and familiarise yourself with RMIT Global Exchange processes.
RMIT is proud of its strong connections with prestigious Milanese institutions including the Politecnico di Milano, Bocconi University, Istituto Europeo di Design, Nuova Accademia di Belle Arti Milano and Universita Cattolica del Sacro Cuore.
The University is grateful to the Annemarie and Arturo Gandioli-Fumagalli Foundation for its support in strengthening these partnerships.
The scholarship recipients share their experiences and the impact the scholarship had on them
The Milan-Melbourne Program invites leading Italian designers and industry professionals to deliver a Masterclass to RMIT students and staff, sharing their international expertise and discussing key themes in the industry.
Milan-born Arturo Gandioli-Fumagalli and his late wife, Melbourne-born Annemarie, established the RMIT Milan-Melbourne Exchange Program in 2014 as part of their philanthropic efforts through the Annemarie and Arturo Gandioli-Fumagalli Foundation. The program pays homage to their respective hometowns and combines the couple’s passion for philanthropy and design, giving Milanese design a home at RMIT. It consists of providing an annual scholarship and an additional masterclass program.
The couple started this program because Melbourne and Milan are twin cities, and because Annemarie was from Melbourne and Arturo from Milan. The aim of the Milan-Melbourne Exchange Program is to deepen the knowledge and understanding of both cities, and to open that up to as many people as possible.
"We believed we were very lucky to have received gifts from life, and with our retirement we felt that it was time to give back and make sure that other people were able to benefit from the opportunity to have interesting experiences."- Arturo Gandioli-Fumagalli.
Annemarie and Arturo chose RMIT because they felt it had strengths that match the most outstanding characteristics of Milan, and because it offered subjects that would best stimulate the interchangeable relationship between Milan and Melbourne. They were also particularly impressed by the welcome that they received from RMIT, and felt it was a place full of passion and enthusiasm.
We hope that by continuing this project in the future, more and more people will be aware that the two cities are closely related, and that Melbourne and Milan become very familiar names to both Melbournians and Milanese.”
Equity scholarships level the playing field for students who face additional barriers to tertiary education. Donate today and help give them the best chance of success.
RMIT University acknowledges the people of the Woi wurrung and Boon wurrung language groups of the eastern Kulin Nation on whose unceded lands we conduct the business of the University. RMIT University respectfully acknowledges their Ancestors and Elders, past and present. RMIT also acknowledges the Traditional Custodians and their Ancestors of the lands and waters across Australia where we conduct our business - Artwork 'Sentient' by Hollie Johnson, Gunaikurnai and Monero Ngarigo.
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