In September 2023 after 26 years of achievement, the EXECAL Committee decided to dissolve the Association of ECAL former students and friends, aware of changing societal interests and the administrative challenges inherent in running an association.
This does not mean the disappearance of the EXECAL identity, nor the end of relations and activities linked to ECAL alumni. On the contrary, the idea of transforming the organisation internally - EXECAL (ECAL Alumni) Office - will allow for smoother management, focusing more on our fundamental missions: maintaining links, cultivating an international network and supporting the professional integration of alumni.
From now on, online services, in particular access to professional opportunities (jobs, internships, etc.) and competitions, are offered to all alumni.
In July 2023, there was more than 2,460 alumni (former graduates) of 40 different nationalities. Around 170 students have graduated from ECAL with a Bachelor's or Master's degree each year since 2018. Apart from Switzerland, our largest alumni community is in Paris. London, Berlin and Brussels also attract a good number of ECAL alumni.
The map on the home page is designed to facilitate exchanges between alumni, track their movements and, in the long term, create a world network with regional branches. Since 2023, an EXECAL branch has been spontaneously set up in Shanghai (with more than 10 participants), followed by another in Seoul with around 50 participants.
EXECAL network objectives
- Promote the professional integration of our graduate students
- Offer services, benefits and contacts
- Keep contact with our alumni all over the world and encourage them to keep in
contact with each other
- Strengthen the links between the mother institution, its former students, current students and friends of ECAL
- Include all our members in a community of like-minded people
- Contribute to the growth and influence of ECAL
ECAL / Ecole cantonale d'art de Lausanne is regularly ranked as one of the top 10 Schools of Art and Design in the world. It is directed by Alexis Georgacopoulos, and offers six different undergraduate pathways (Fine Arts, Film Studies, Graphic Design, Industrial Design, Media & Interaction Design, Photography) and five at Master’s degree level (Fine Arts, Cinema, Product Design, Photography, Type Design). ECAL also offers a one-year Foundation Course to prepare students to enter its different departments and two Master’s, one in Advanced Studies in Design for Luxury & Craftsmanship and the other in Design Research for Digital Innovation (with EPFL + ECAL Lab).
Each academic year, ECAL attracts almost 600 students. The school’s influence within Europe and worldwide is amply attested by the success of our former students, countless newspaper articles, regular citations in specialist and generalist literature and an enviable number of exhibitions in prestigious venues such as the Milan Furniture Fair (Milan), Centre Pompidou (Paris), Victoria & Albert Museum (London), swissnex, etc.
Over the years, ECAL has substantially increased its collaborative links with schools of art and design throughout the world and leading companies operating in a very wide variety of fields: Alessi, Baccarat, Camper, Galeries Lafayette, Hermès, Hublot, Nestlé, USM, Vitra, etc.
The ECAL network and a portfolio produced to the highest professional standards equip students, after graduation, to work for top-flight practices and companies or to take the plunge and create their own company.