LCI Education expands its global network with two new future-focused centres for creative education

This special feature is sponsored by LCI Education

“Now, more than ever, creativity and design play a pivotal role in shaping our world,” explains Dr Jamie Kemp, chief academic officer at LaSalle College Vancouver. “Creative problem solving is at the core of what it means to be an artist or designer today. It’s about making the world a better, more beautiful place while addressing some of the most pressing social and environmental issues of our time.”

As Dr Kemp reminds us, the creative sector is booming. Now more than ever, organisations need creative problem solvers, innovative thinkers, and creators of every variety.

That's where LCI Education comes in. A leader in creative education, the LCI Education’s global community of higher education institutions traces its roots back to Montreal, where it was founded in 1959. LCI Education now operates 12 institutions across 5 continents – with thousands of faculty and staff supporting more than 20,000 learners worldwide each year. All told, LCI Education's students come from more than 130 countries to join a global community of creative hubs based on an innovative education model that combines hands-on learning with leading technology to graduate job-ready creative professionals.

This year, the group is demonstrating its commitment to leadership in creative education with the opening of two expanded and reimagined campuses in two of the world's important centres for design and creative industries: Vancouver and Barcelona.

Where East meets West

Vancouver is not only one of North America's most beautiful cities, but it is also a vital intersection of cultures along the Pacific Rim and an important creative centre, especially when it comes to design, fashion, and gaming.

LCI Education has operated a college in Vancouver for a decade, but is now opening a new chapter on creative education on Canada's West Coast. With its new campus, opening Fall 2025, LCI Education is bringing technology, active learning, and social engagement together in a 108,000-square-foot, seven-storey building.

Nearly 90% of this new vertical campus is illuminated by natural light, and each floor will have social and flexible gathering spaces for students including outdoor patios on the third and seventh floors. LaSalle College Vancouver has been ranked the #1 undergraduate school in Canada for video game design by Princeton Review for ten years in a row, and the project architects have designed a giant screen in the Gaming Lounge for students who want to showcase their work, or experience the latest game releases.

"Through our investment in this stunning new campus, LCI Education is fuelling the growth of British Columbia’s booming art, media, culinary and design industries and further positioning Vancouver as a hub of creative education for the future," says Jason Dewling, Chief Learning Officer at LCI Education. "We're developing some of the most outstanding creative learning infrastructure in Vancouver in support of people all over the world who are pursuing their creative passions."

Where industry, learning, and innovation connect

LCI Education's roots go even further back in Barcelona, a city that has truly established itself as a European hub for art and design.

First established in 1928 as a fashion school, LCI Barcelona offers also diverse programs in art, design, communication, and technology. And newly opened for the 2024/25 academic year, the new LCI Barcelona campus is a seven-story, 120,000-square-foot building in the heart of Barcelona’s most creative and technological neighbourhood, district 22@.

Alumni of LCI Barcelona include world-renowned designers and creative professionals, such as Domingo Rodríguez Lázaro, whose Dominnico brand is favoured by celebrities like Lady Gaga, Rosalía, and Beyoncé. Other notable alumni include Josep Font (designer), Maria Escoté (designer), Ruben Berkeley (animation), Juan Vidal (designer), and more. Those trail-blazing graduates perfectly reflect the global impact of LCI Education and its commitment to cultivating the next generation of leaders in the creative industries.

The new LCI Barcelona is now an even more impactful design education hub for Barcelona and Spain; a role that is reflected in the institution’s close relationship with creative industries in Spain and with major design and fashion events in the city. In 2024, for example, the campus was an important venue for programming during Barcelona Design Week.
 
"The world is shifting, rules are changing, but we are opening our doors to give people a chance to pursue their creative passions in state of the art facilities and a step beyond what you would expect in a classic school setting,” says LCI Education’s Europe Vice President Alessandro Manetti. “These are places built to deliver an incredible student experience and to make their dreams come true."
 
For more on each of these landmark, future-focused campuses, please visit LCI Barcelona and LaSalle College Vancouver online.