Universidad Iberoamericana (Unibe)

Mission Statement

Unibe is an academic community that promotes a transformative educational experience and creates relevant knowledge through a model of excellence and innovation, fostering leadership which impacts society both locally and globally.

The mission of Interior Design School is Train Interior Design professionals, highly qualified, creative, innovative and committed to society; contributing to raise the quality of life and the integral development of the human being.

International Role

Unibe has developed over 300 international agreements to promote student and faculty exchange, collaboration, dual programs, community engagement, joint relevant research, and promotes intercultural competencies through different courses and activities. An example of international activities carried out by the Interior Design is the Jornada de Diseño de Interiores. Since 2005, the school has organized and celebrates its “Jornada de Diseño de Interiores” every two years. It is an Interior Design event which promotes the participation of national and international professionals in the area, graduates and active students of Interior design of the national and international school. It is a meeting space between designers, companies and interior design school, where the latest trends and new products are analyzed. From the first day we have had the participation of prominent national and international design professionals from countries such as: Italy, The United State of American, Mexico, Costa Rica, Puerto Rico, Colombia, among others.

Since 2006, the Interior Design School has been a member of the International Interior Design Association (IIDA) as a member of the International Design School. It is part of the Latin American Association of Interior Design Schools. In 2015, the school joined the Iberoamerican Council of Interior Designer as an Educational member (CIDI); is a founding member of the Dominican Association of Design Schools (ADED). Since 2006 the Interior Design School is a member of the Latin American Forum of Design Schools together with the University of Palermo in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

National Role

Unibe prioritizes the community engagement and internationalization in all its program. To educate a global citizen, responsible and committed to its community.   Unibe is the highest ranking university for the last 7 years in the Latin America QS Ranking and therefore plays an important role in the higher education arena of our country. Unibe is committed to educating future leaders so that they have a positive impact in society. The university is also committed to impacting social policies and ensures that its research is useful and relevant to the needs of our society.
In particular for our school of interior design it is interesting to note that in the Dominican Republic, the interior design career is very young, the first school emerged in the seventies, with an academic proposal focused on interior decoration and thus evolving to become a bachelor´s degree program. Currently in the Dominican Republic there are nine (9) higher education Institutions that offer the interior design career, with a bachelor´s degree and one (1) as a technician in Interior design. Our program has been offered for 35 years and is considered one of the most prestigious academic programs available in the Dominican Republic.

The development of design workshops with international guest professors on relevant topics such as design and sustainability, lighting, commercial design, wellness, furniture design, art direction for movies or film, design thinking, ephemeral assemblies. These workshops are aimed at students, graduates and professionals in the area and are recognized in the design industry because of their quality and relevance.

The “New Face of design” conference is a space created to stimulate and promote the linking of young interior design professionals, with the intention of promoting their design studios or their companies related to the area, where they present their projects, ideas or proposals and stimulate the exchange of experiences and knowledge in the various areas of design, becoming a laboratory of creativity and innovation, a prestigious design showcase.

In the academic program we have extracurricular activities that support curricular activities, such as: 

• “Dialogue with professionals, whose objective is to integrate the academic world and the labor sector. This activity is made up of talks, workshops, dialogues, presentations by interior design professionals or companies in the sector. 
• “Professionals at the classroom”, bring together interior design professionals with students in the school´s classroom, to learn about the design trends.

In this activity, topics related to design and the class are addressed through conferences, workshops, conversations, visit to projects, etc. It is about helping the future generations of Dominican designers to explore the industry, sharing their experiences and projects, becoming a tutor one day of the week.

Main Focus

Unibe focuses on the three pillars of higher education: undergraduate and graduate programs, research and community engagement. For the Cumulus application we would like to highlight our Interior Design program. This program contemplates competency-based learning, characterized by the use of state of the art, technologies, developing interdisciplinary knowledge, skills and attitudes; being research, creativity, innovation, training in values, entrepreneurship, internationalization and service to the community the basic foundations of the educational proposal. The program has four (4) trainings axes that permeate the academic program and define the competencies that define the graduation profile of students:

• Formative axis #1 Graphic expression of interior design: Graphically communicate design projects in a creative and innovative way, using different representation techniques (manual or digital) that guarantee the expression of your information with graphic quality.
• Formative axis #2 Design of spaces and complements: Design spaces and products in a creative and innovative way, based on research and the efficient management of resources and technologies, to satisfy the needs of the user.
• Formative axis #3 Management and execution of design projects: Manage and execute interior projects that ensure quality in the completion of the works, with effective administration of the time and resources, respecting ethical, cultural, and environmental values.
• Formative axis #4 Mention: design art direction: design and execute spatial, functional, and aesthetic proposals for audiovisual production, shows and events.

During their academic life, students will participate in workshops, congresses, conferences, study tours, meetings with professionals, among other activities. The 7th academic semester is contemplated as the ideal for the student mobility program.

The program offers the possibility of three concentrations (minors) and a major, through the professional electives courses that are offered from the 7th semester onwards. The program offers the possibility of three concentrations (minors) and a major:

• Concentration in design of commercial spaces teaches students to create spaces for the sale, exhibition and presentation of consumer products according to the needs and demands of the current market.
• Concentration in design of lodging space develops competencies to create habitable space in the residential, hotel and hospital areas that respond to the needs of different types of stays.
• Concentration in Art and Museographer focuses on creating spaces for exhibition. Incorporating knowledge into his training that includes curatorship, museographer and design of ephemeral or permanent assemblies.

The Major in Art Direction for film, trains an Interior Designer specializing in the creation of space and visual style. A professional capable of offering solutions to special scenography and / or setting needs for film locations, theater, audiovisual productions, shows and events.