CIRRUS is a Nordic-Baltic network of Art and Design higher education. There are 22 excellent art and design schools from the Nordics and the Baltics in the circle of this cooperation. The central activities of the partner institutions are art and design, including innovative activities, technical development and artistic practices.

CIRRUS Leadership Meeting. March 25 – 27 (28), 2026. Reykjavik, Iceland

CIRRUS Leaders’ Meeting in Reykjavík (one leader per CIRRUS school)
Leading Meaning, Not Just Institutions
25–27(28), 2026 March | Reykjavík, Iceland

We are pleased to welcome CIRRUS leaders to the upcoming CIRRUS Leaders’ Meeting in Reykjavík, hosted by IUA.
Official registration is open now!  Please register due 16 February.

Dates

  • Informal get-together: Wednesday evening, 25 March (for those already in Reykjavík)

  • Official programme: Thursday, 26 March – Friday evening (late), 27 March

Participation fee

  • 350 EUR
    (Invoice will be issued upon registration)

Participation conditions

  • One leader per institution (dean, rector, head of department, or equivalent)

  • Registration form

CIRRUS mobility grant

  • One grant per institution available

    • 660 EUR travel costs

    • 100 EUR subsistence per day

To receive the grant, please complete the CIRRUS grant form, have it signed by the CIRRUS coordinator, and send it to sandra.mell@artun.ee.
The grant will be paid to the institution’s bank account.

THEME: Leading Meaning, Not Just Institutions

What Are We Educating For – and Why Does It Matter?
The March meeting will be shaped as a shared think tank, creating space for reflection, dialogue, and long-term thinking. Rather than focusing primarily on managerial tools, the gathering invites participants to shift attention
from management to meaning-making,
from administrative tools to visionary and conceptual thinking,
and from reaction to future orientation.
At the centre of the meeting is a fundamental question for education today: what truly matters, and how does this shape the decisions we make as leaders? In times of uncertainty and rapid change, there is a growing need to provide orientation and firm ground to work from. When external demands, metrics, and short-term pressures are constantly shifting, leadership must reconnect with purpose, judgment, and long-term responsibility.
The overarching theme, Leading Meaning, Not Just Institutions, frames leadership as an act of orientation and meaning-making. The guiding question, What Are We Educating For – and Why Does It Matter?, places particular emphasis on young people: what they are learning today, and how education equips them to navigate an uncertain future shaped by developments in AI, climate change, and a changing world order.
The programme brings together leaders in Nordic–Baltic design education with a small number of invited thinkers from outside the design field in Iceland, including philosophy, science and technology, and literature. Through lectures and conversations, the meeting creates space for deep reflection, shared inquiry, and cross-disciplinary perspectives, strengthening the intellectual and strategic foundations of leadership in art and design education.

Practical information can be found here.

Programme at a glance

  • Thursday, 26 March
    09:00–15:30 Workshops and working sessions
    Afternoon free time
    19:00 Group dinner

  • Friday, 27 March
    Formal meeting until 12:00
    Lunch
    Afternoon activity 
    Group dinner and spa in the evening

Due to travel connections, participants are strongly encouraged to plan their return travel for Saturday, 28 March, in order to participate fully in the programme.Further practical information will be shared together with the registration.

We look forward to welcoming you to Reykjavík!