With the theme, "Design Difference - Design Education 2050," the Education Conference will take place on 22 November, as part of the Icsid World Design Congress 2009 in Singapore.

Keynote speaker

Satoshi Nakagawa CEO, Tripod design Project Professor, Design Innovation Laboratory, Tokyo University, Japan Board Committee, AUDN, Asian Universal Design Network

Since its inception in the nineteenth century, the Bauhaus founded by Walter Gropius was very much grounded in craft ideology and it also stressed intuitive solutions to design problems. This provided the basic model for much of what we see in modern day design training. The trend in the past two decades in design education predicated a tendency towards professionalism rather than generic education in design schools, colleges and universities. Design education in the 20th century sought to teach both, life and vocation.

In spite of current extraneous changes in epistemology, academe and practice, the traditional pedagogy of equipping students vocationally and professionally for their first job has not changed substantially. Why is this so? Jobs that are available today may not exist in twenty years time (ICPD's research on Employment Trends in the 21st Century [1]) and those that exist in 2050 possibly do not exist now. The traditional correlation between education and practice makes a belief in general education widespread, though hardly ubiquitous.

The theme of this conference "Design Education: 2050" attempts to crystal ball gaze the future of design education. It takes on a forward position that pulls concepts and scenarios towards that future locale. We take reference from the drivers of change in the area of global inter-connected economics, socio-political cultural diversities, new world order, incredibly fast developments in technology, break neck speeds in the assembly of knowledge and dissemination of the same. The ubiquitous chip and the miniaturization of technology support the notion that interaction between humans, information, teaching and learning can occur immaterially. User friendliness in products, services and systems are assessed beyond physicality in what Anthony Dunne in Hertzian Tales 2 terms as the 'aesthetics of use' where interactions and engagements are measured in electronic inductions. This is only the tip of the iceberg. What next?

The conference is the forum to examine and debate various future transformations occurring in education in the light of our traditional and current understanding of design education. The conference aims to provide the participants an occasion to share and exchange experiences and research findings, and to stimulate more ideas and useful insights regarding the future of design education in 2050.

The Icsid Educational Conference is a unique and engaging educational event that will take place one day prior to the 2009 Icsid World Design Congress "Design Difference". The conference will develop and encourage an international platform for the debate on design education. The format will include a number of seminars based on selected papers and will be structured around a number of futuristic themes.

Who should participate

The Conference will be a meeting place for educators, researchers and academics in the field of design theory, practice, critics and in related areas of research.

Participants are encouraged to arrive in Singapore on 21 November in time for an early start on 22 November.

Themes

1. From now to the future
   Forward Visions of Education
   The Highly Connected World
   New Thinking Design Studio
   The Sustainable Future: New Education
   Blue Sky, White Space
   
   
2. Synthetic future of design education
   Trans Discipline Design Education
   New Subject Matter in Design
   Biotechnology and Design
   Design Education in a Changing World
   
   
3. Future Epistemology in Design
   Creativity and Critical Thinking in Design Teaching
   Nature of Design Program
   Alternative Ways for Teaching and Learning Design
   Future Research-Based Pedagogy
   New Service Learning
   New Design Knowledge
   New Curricula
   
   
4. Digital Technology in Design Education
   Virtualization of Design Education
   Digital Design Methods and Pedagogies
   The Future and Digital Design
   Web-Based Design
   Computer-Mediated Collaborative Design
   Virtual Reality and Design Education
   
   
5. New Tools of Design Education
   Lighthouses of Knowledge
   New Interactivity of Design and the Physical World
   Designer's Toolbox of the Future
   Co-Creation Processes

For more information about the Conference, please contact:

Conference Secretariat
e:
w: www.icsidcongress09.com