The first high school selected for SCAD’s new project-based program reflects the kind of international, entrepreneurial and interdisciplinary environment the university wants to bring into its next generation of education.
When the Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) decided to take its project-based educational model beyond the university campus, it could have started almost anywhere.
Instead, the university chose Leysin American School (LAS) in Switzerland as the first high school in the world to offer PRO 340: Project-Based Thinking.
The decision is revealing.
LAS is an international boarding school in the Swiss Alps with a student community representing more than 50 nationalities. Its academic model already combines the International Baccalaureate and Advanced Placement pathways with entrepreneurship, innovation, experiential learning and global partnerships.
That makes the partnership less of a conventional curriculum launch and more of a meeting between two institutions pursuing a similar idea: education becomes more valuable when students are given opportunities to work with real problems before they enter the professional world.
An International Environment From the Start
LAS is not a typical high school environment.
The school describes its 300-student community as an international ecosystem in which students live and learn together while preparing for universities around the world. Its location in Leysin, surrounded by the Swiss Alps and within easy access of European cultural centers, is also part of its educational model.
That international composition matters for a program built around collaboration.
SCAD’s PRO 340 is designed to expose students to research, project management, communication, decision-making and creative problem-solving.
Those skills become particularly relevant when students are working with people from different cultures, backgrounds and perspectives.
LAS itself emphasizes this dimension. The school says its students come from more than 50 nationalities and are encouraged to become creative problem-solvers through hands-on and entrepreneurial programs.
The environment is therefore already aligned with the type of collaboration PRO 340 is designed to encourage.
The Changemakers Connection
There is another reason the partnership makes strategic sense: Changemakers.
LAS launched its Changemakers program and partnership with Babson College in 2025, building a curriculum around innovation, creativity and entrepreneurship.
The school’s current program includes real-world case studies, simulations, business partnerships, university collaborations and international competitions. Students work on problems involving businesses and organizations while developing skills in critical thinking, opportunity recognition, problem-solving and communication.
In July 2026, LAS described its partnership ecosystem as including both Babson College and SCAD, giving students access to entrepreneurship and design methodologies from two institutions with different but complementary areas of expertise.
PRO 340 therefore enters an environment that has already been moving toward experiential and entrepreneurial education.
It is not introducing the philosophy from scratch.
It is adding another layer to it.
Where Design Meets Entrepreneurship
The connection between SCAD and LAS becomes especially interesting at the intersection of design and business.
Entrepreneurship education often focuses on identifying opportunities, understanding markets and building ventures.
Design education approaches problems from another direction, emphasizing users, experiences, systems, visual communication and creative problem-solving.
Modern companies increasingly require both.
LAS has already incorporated entrepreneurial case studies into its Changemakers curriculum, while SCAD brings a design-centered approach built around creative practice and professional collaboration.
PRO 340 sits directly between these worlds.
The program’s 10 instructional levels are built around SCADpro case studies showing how project-based thinking operates in professional, client-facing contexts. Students work with SCAD faculty and receive additional coaching in teamwork, professional communication and presentation.
That gives the partnership a logical structure:
Entrepreneurial thinking + design thinking + real-world projects.
Why Switzerland Matters
The choice of Switzerland also gives the launch an international dimension from day one.
SCAD has campuses in Atlanta and Savannah, Georgia, Lacoste, France, and an online platform through SCADnow. The university itself operates across international markets, enrolling students from more than 100 countries.
Launching PRO 340 at a Swiss boarding school with a similarly international student body allows the program to begin in an environment that already reflects the global character of SCAD’s student community.
It also creates a useful testing ground for an initiative designed for international expansion.
SCAD says it plans to partner with additional high schools across the United States and around the world after the initial launch.
The first school is therefore not simply the destination for the program.
It is the beginning of a potential network.
A School Designed Around Experiential Learning
LAS explicitly positions experiential learning as part of its educational identity.
The school says it moves education beyond the classroom by giving students opportunities to understand the practical applications of their studies through real-world experiences.
Its Changemakers curriculum reinforces that approach through case studies and simulations designed to reproduce professional and social scenarios in a controlled environment.
That philosophy closely mirrors what SCAD is attempting with PRO 340.
The program is designed around actual SCADpro cases and professional-style environments rather than abstract exercises. Students engage with content created from SCAD’s own academic and professional community, including more than 40 original videos, work samples and interactive materials.
For a first implementation, that alignment reduces the distance between the program’s intended methodology and the school’s existing educational culture.
Building a Global Education Pipeline
The partnership also points toward a broader model for international education.
Students increasingly move through educational systems that are global by design. They study alongside peers from different countries, apply to universities across borders and enter professional environments where teams are distributed internationally.
A program that develops collaboration and communication inside an international student body can therefore provide more than academic preparation.
It can provide practice for the environment students are likely to encounter later.
LAS already emphasizes university preparation and global mobility, with students progressing to universities across the United States, United Kingdom, Europe and other regions.
PRO 340 adds another connection to that pipeline by allowing students to earn five transferable SCAD university credits, alongside three micro-credentials focused on teamwork, presentation and program completion.
The First Move in a Larger Expansion
The most important aspect of the partnership may ultimately be what happens after the first cohort.
SCAD has positioned PRO 340 as a program that will expand beyond Leysin American School to additional high schools in the United States and internationally.
That makes the Swiss launch a potential blueprint.
If the model works, SCAD will have an established framework for bringing its approach to project-based, professional-oriented education into other schools without requiring students to wait until university to encounter it.
The choice of LAS is therefore strategic.
The school already has an international student population, an established entrepreneurship and innovation program, university partnerships, and a strong emphasis on experiential learning.
It offers an environment where SCAD can test the model with students who are already accustomed to thinking beyond conventional classroom boundaries.
A Partnership Built Around What Comes Next
The SCAD–LAS partnership ultimately reflects a broader transformation taking place in education.
The boundaries between high school, university and professional preparation are becoming more fluid.
Schools are bringing in universities.
Universities are bringing professional methodologies into classrooms.
Students are gaining access to projects, credentials and industry perspectives earlier in their educational journeys.
PRO 340 sits at the center of that transition.
By launching first at Leysin American School, SCAD is placing the program inside a community that already values internationalism, entrepreneurship, design and experiential learning.
The choice is not simply about where PRO 340 begins.
It is about what kind of educational environment SCAD believes can best demonstrate where the model is going next.
And if the program expands as planned, the Swiss Alps may prove to be only the starting point.
