Luxury, Culture & International Learning: ABC Paris Students Join the BIP in Warsaw
One week in Warsaw, three European universities and a shared exploration of luxury, art and cultural heritage. From 19 to 23 October 2026, ABC Paris students joined students from Kozminski University and IULM Milano for an international learning experience through the Blended Intensive Programme (BIP).
Organised every semester with a group of well performing students, the BIP is part of ABC Paris’s international academic experience. Supported by Erasmus+, it combines online learning with an immersive week abroad, bringing students from the three partner institutions together to exchange ideas, discover a new city and work on a shared challenge.
This semester’s edition, “Art, Patronage and the Design of Value,” was hosted by Kozminski University in Warsaw. It explored the connections between luxury, design, business and cultural heritage, asking how the past can inspire experiences that matter to contemporary audiences.
Three Universities, One Shared Experience
The programme brought together American Business College Paris,
Kozminski University in Warsaw and IULM Milano in Italy, giving students
the opportunity to learn alongside peers from different academic and cultural
backgrounds. Students then spent a week in Warsaw, with a programme
combining a practical design workshop, expert lectures, cultural visits and
international teamwork.
For ABC Paris students, the experience offered a chance to explore their interests in luxury and culture while adapting to a different learning environment and building connections across European institutions.
Exploring How Luxury and Heritage Create Value
What gives an object meaning? How does a private collection become shared cultural heritage? And how can a brand’s history shape its identity today?
These questions connected the week’s activities. A workshop led by industrial designer Bronka de Sage, “Objects to Stories: Creating Meaning through Design,” explored how materials, objects and inherited traditions can be transformed through contemporary design. The itinerary also included the Starak Family Foundation, examining the relationship between art and business, and Vitkac, Warsaw’s luxury department store, introducing students to the entrepreneurial story of the Likus family.
Discovering Warsaw Through Art and Culture
Warsaw itself formed an essential part of the programme. A guided city tour introduced students to their surroundings, while visits to the Museum of
Modern Art in Warsaw and Villa La Fleur connected the week’s themes with collections, exhibitions and distinctive cultural spaces.
A lecture by Radosław Milczarski, corporate historian at BGK, explored why companies preserve and exhibit their own history. It brought a business perspective to the role of heritage, showing how a company’s past can become part of the story it shares with the public.
A Recurring Opportunity to Learn Internationally
Held every semester, the BIP gives ABC Paris students an opportunity to broaden their studies through a focused international experience. Its blended format connects preparation online with intensive learning in person, while its collaborative approach makes students active contributors throughout the programme.
The Warsaw edition brought this approach to life through luxury, cultural heritage and creative teamwork, connecting ABC Paris students with new perspectives, European peers and fresh ways of thinking about business.
