CRAFT OUR PATH
LEARNING
We guide our students through a growth journey, inspiring them to embrace more sustainable models of thinking and consumption. We create educational opportunities that transform knowledge into a tool for change, providing the skills needed to tackle global challenges, while fostering creativity, critical thinking, and innovative vision.
INCLUSION
We cultivate an open, multicultural, and dynamic environment where young creatives from around the world can turn their ideas into reality. We value every identity, promoting respect and dialogue to break down barriers and build a shared culture. Because the future belongs to those who dare to imagine it without borders.
RESPONSIBILITY
We are committed to reducing our environmental impact through renewable energy and sustainable choices. We promote a culture of responsibility that empowers students to become drivers of change, guiding them towards conscious action. Every gesture, every choice can generate a positive impact: together, we are building a fairer and more sustainable future.
The claim “CRAFT OUR PATH” expresses the desire to act as an academic community. The use of English and the choice of three simple, universal words help convey their underlying value. To craft serves as a metaphor for the Academy’s approach to learning: a creative process that is careful, detailed, and intentional, where action is not immediate or instinctive, but gradual and considered. The possessive adjective our emphasises the importance of collective action, highlighting the urgency of shared commitment. RUFA welcomes staff, lecturers, and students from across Italy and over 60 countries: in this diversity of cultures and perspectives, inclusivity becomes a strength. The noun path represents each individual’s responsibility for their own journey: achieving a goal demands sacrifice, dedication, and perseverance. Just as in an academic career, those who are part of this large family are called upon to promote and uphold responsible practices in order to build a better future.
RUFA’s first Sustainability Report represents both a major milestone and a voluntary decision to transparently share results and actions undertaken, outlining a journey that places social and environmental responsibility at its core.
This document reflects the Academy’s commitment to promoting an educational model in which sustainability, inclusion, and innovation form the pillars of the learning experience and academic life. It is a testament to the values that inspire RUFA and are embodied in the Sustainability Manifesto, as well as in our efforts to contribute to the achievement of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) through concrete and measurable initiatives capable of generating positive impact for both the academic community and society.
With a community of over 1,500 people, RUFA is a breeding ground for talent, where creativity meets knowledge to shape not only artists and designers but also active, aware citizens, capable of interpreting the challenges of the present and designing innovative solutions for the future. This commitment is reflected in the many projects, collaborations, and educational paths designed to integrate sustainability. This document marks a key milestone in our sustainability journey, representing the beginning of a continuous dialogue with our stakeholders and a report of the results, initiatives, and ambitions guiding our commitment to a more sustainable and inclusive future.
The Manifesto fits within the broader context of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the United Nations 2030 Agenda, which, together with their 169 targets, represent a globally recognised framework for building a fairer and more sustainable future. In 2023, RUFA identified a selection of SDGs relevant to its academic, educational, and cultural activities, linking them to its key material topics. The SDGs serve as a guiding framework for RUFA in planning its commitments and initiatives, contributing to the achievement of the 2030 Agenda targets and generating positive impacts for both the academic community and its stakeholders.
SUSTAINABILITY IN TEACHING
RUFA’s educational offer is designed to accompany its students on a path where they learn, prepare, and grow, becoming part of a vast, broad, and comprehensive professional and creative environment. Thanks to its professional lecturers, RUFA constantly renews itself and offers its students dynamic and always up-to-date programmes and study plans, responding to the new artistic and cultural context while providing high-level preparation and a strong, concrete professional perspective.
Among the many activities aimed at achieving the goals of the 2030 Agenda, the course in RUFA Sustainable Fashion Design stands out, distinguishing itself as a pioneering path by integrating the creativity of fashion design with the key principles of sustainability, present both in the educational and extra-curricular activities organised by the academy.
Every RUFA course places particular emphasis on sustainable processes, with examples being the events where students present their projects both within the academy and externally, in partnership with companies and institutions.
SOCIAL SUSTAINABILITY
RUFA places at the heart of its mission the support and enhancement of students, accompanying them on a growth path that begins with orientation and continues until entering the world of work. At the same time, the Academy is committed to ensuring a safe and stimulating educational environment, where student well-being is a priority. Through continuous support and targeted services, RUFA guarantees a positive, balanced, and future-oriented academic experience.
In addition to the focus on the student community, RUFA aims at the welfare of the staff and the entire academic community, through a solid welfare plan, training plans, and gender equality policies, for which it has also obtained the certification.
ARTISTIC PRODUCTION AND THIRD MISSION
RUFA is an institution of excellence dedicated to artistic and cultural education, with a long tradition of innovation and creativity. The Academy stands out for its commitment to high-quality artistic production and its mission to promote and develop creativity through an in-depth and personalised educational path, realised in the RUFA Culture project.
A digital container entirely dedicated to the projects of students, researchers, and lecturers, which amplifies the enjoyment and resonance of these projects through a complete digital archive, a real virtual portfolio, allowing the community to experience and relive the creative experiences of the Academy.
If RUFA Culture is the container for artistic and cultural dissemination, the activities are its content: events, exhibitions, and performances are the beating heart of the Academy’s results sharing. RUFA’s Third Mission is realised through interaction with society via the dissemination of knowledge and the enhancement of artistic research.
ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY
RUFA has recently expanded its campuses with two new campuses in Rome and Milan, designed according to principles of urban regeneration and sustainable architecture. These structures not only represent an important evolution for the Academy, but also meet modern environmental standards, integrating technologies for energy efficiency and solutions that promote ecological mobility. Both campuses offer welcoming and functional spaces for the academic community and the surrounding area, creating creative hubs that embody the values of sustainability and environmental respect that RUFA wishes to convey to its students and the cities hosting its activities.
Download the report and discover how RUFA is working towards a fairer and more conscious future, combining culture, education, and concrete actions in service of the community.
Browse the RUFA Sustainability ReportGENDER EQUALITY CERTIFICATE