As Far As I Can Tell

In John Thackara’s latest Doors of Perception monthly report he has some straight talk about the Interaction-Ivrea move to Milan:

A brutal policy change by its main sponsor, Telecom Italia, has forced Interaction Design Institute Ivrea to move to Milan and effectively merge with Domus Academy. The two organizations describe the move stoically as “a great opportunity for growth”, but the fact remains that the Ivrea team will be broken up and funding for the combined entity drastically reduced. Telecom’s decision is short-sighted and represents a stupendous destruction of value: It is breaking up a hub, five years in the making, for a new community of practice in a subject area strategically crucial for telecoms.

This is the first time I’ve heard a critical view of the change since the school’s press releases are understandably putting a positive spin on it. It makes me feel better about not considering the program once I got the notice about the school moving.