Museums are important educational environments, and offer considerable learning experiences. Besides those that are released within their walls, these institutions’ potentialities to contribute to teaching and learning processes can be unfolded also in other contexts. In particular, the paper aims at reflecting on the possibility to apply their principles and contents within university studies, and on the strategical part this integration can play in fostering innovation in education modalities and horizons.

This insight will draw on an experimentation promoted at Politecnico di Milano (Italy), as part of the Open Atelier project (funded by the European Commission within the Creative Europe program, CREA-CULT-2021-COOP-2). By engaging a group of international students in an interdisciplinary workshop, this initiative enabled the development of a cross-sectoral learning experience ensuing from the co-creative application of design knowledge to the enhancement of the heritage conserved and promoted by four European House Museums – Art Museums of Skagen (Denmark), Millesgården (Sweden), Einar Jónsson Museum (Iceland) and Plečnik House at Museum and Galleries of Ljubljana (Slovenia).

The experience carried out within the Open Atelier project offered some interesting food for thought to evaluate the potential of the collaboration between universities and museums, which seems to be particularly useful in nurturing the ongoing revision of the compartmentalization of education programs in rigid "disciplinary boxes" and in fostering the development of innovative approaches and practices.

Keywords: Education, innovation, collaboration, interdisciplinarity.