TALM’s investment in the local ecosystem with sites in two regions and three departments means it benefits from a vast network of over sixty academic partners nationally, half of which are located in the Pays de la Loire or Centre-Val-de-Loire regions. They include art and design schools, higher education arts schools, universities, engineering schools and “Grande Écoles” (elite education institutes). These partnerships are essential for exchanging knowledge and for developing teaching projects, learning paths and new training and research. They are also indispensable for improving the student experience. Ad hoc legal tools are used to formalise these collaborations. Between 2015 and 2020 these links with the academic world have also led to fruitful interpersonal relationships.