Apologies for multiple postings:

International Conference on Design Education
11-13 December 2000
Curtin University of Technology. Perth. Western Australia


'RE-INVENTING DESIGN EDUCATION IN THE UNIVERSITY'

Convener: Professor Cal Swann
School of Design. Curtin University of Technology
PO Box U 1987. Perth 6845. Western Australia
Email: [log in to unmask]

Sponsored by the School of Design, Curtin University of Technology
Supported by Design Issues, the Design Research Society, ICOGRADA 

The conference website is now available on URL:
http://design.curtin.edu/DesEd2000/


Conference Secretary: Ms Nikki Jenkins
School of Design
Curtin University of Technology
PO Box U 1987 Perth 6845
Western Australia
Telephone: +61 8 9266 3276
Facsimile: +61 8 9266 2980
Email: [log in to unmask]


Conference Aims
This is a 3 day International Conference for design educators. It is aimed
at re-evaluating the nature of undergraduate design education in the
university context. A number of observers have suggested that the last
decade has witnessed the emergence of a field of study - even a discipline
- of design. This then, is a significant moment at which to focus on the
issue of the change from an art school education that trained students for
careers in design practice - to a university undergraduate program where
students gain an education through design. 

While there have been increased opportunities in universities for
postgraduate study which has contributed toward the establishment of this
new field of study, the undergraduate programs in design have remained
largely unaffected. The outcomes of this conference will be to signal
ideological changes that are desirable in terms of teaching and learning
in design education within a university environment. It is intended to
publish the outcomes of workshops and significant articles addressing this
issue in a post conference book.

Keynote Speakers:
Three of the world's foremost design academics will address the theme of
the conference:

Richard Buchanan, 
Professor of Design, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, USA
Clive Dilnot, 
Professor of Design, Hong Kong Polytechnic, Hong Kong
Ken Friedman, 
Associate Professor of Leadership and Strategic Design, Department of
Knowledge Management, Norwegian School of Management, Norway


Call for Papers
Academics throughout the world are invited to participate in a series of
parallel seminar sessions. An international panel of design academics is
established to advise on conference content and to review papers. 

Initially, abstracts of 500 words will be reviewed for acceptance for
presentations. Full papers will be required prior to the conference (see
schedule below) and these will be submitted to blind refereeing. Selected
papers will be published in a post-conference publication. All the
abstracts will be displayed on the conference website prior to the
conference.

The focus of this conference is on the nature of design education in the
university context and a list of topics centred on this focus is suggested
below. This list is open-ended and deliberately seeks to raise questions
rather than confine discussion. Suggestions for workshop sessions under
these broad headings are welcome.

Guidelines for submission of abstracts and author guidelines for papers
are available on the website.

Topics
A number of conferences in recent have focused on the distinctive
character of research and postgraduate study in design. For example, the
European Academy of Design Conferences: Salford, UK 1995, Stockholm,
Sweden 1997, Sheffield, UK 1999; the UIAH Conferences, Helsinki, Finland
1994-99; Sydney Seminar: Doctoral Study in Design, 1998; PhD in Design:
Ohio 1998; Foundations for the future: doctoral education in design (La
Clusaz, July 2000).

The effects of this extended discourse on design will undoubtedly have an
impact on undergraduate study over the next decade - and this is the
primary focus of this conference. What form might these influences take,
how may they be affected and what needs to be done to achieve change? 

1	University-based education and design education - opposing
cultures?
The culture of a traditional university education ('reading' a discipline)
is substantially different to the professional training for design that
the art schools used to provide. Can these opposing cultures coincide in a
new approach or can a balance be achieved that satisfies apparently
different agendas? How do the different stakeholders in a modern
university (government, educationalists, students, the profession, and so
on) reconcile their varied requirements? What role is there for the
independent art schools?

2 Design practice		
Immense changes are occurring in design practice - changes that will
continue with increasing pace. What is the role of an education in design
where studio skills, thinking skills, profession-specific knowledge, and
so on, are no longer practised in a teaching/studio environment? How
reflective is reflective practice and what level of performance is enough
for a professional (or academic) career?

3 Design theory	
'There is nothing so practical as a good theory'^ but what is design
theory? As soon as one thinks about how one designed something we have a
theory and there have been many books produced in the last 30 years that
have expanded the process of reflective thinking in design and the process
of designing. Understanding the phenomena of design in addition to being
creative in an applied design arena requires more than is generally being
taught in design schools. How do we teach understanding?

4 Related theories
Un-stuffing the curriculum is a serious issue with so many additional
professional and design-specific skills being inserted into design
programs. But many academics will agree that some knowledge of semiotics,
linguistics, anthropology, social psychology, and so on, is also required.
What is really desirable and achievable, and how can such areas be
incorporated into an already overcrowded curriculum?

5 Impact of technology	
Design schools have barely adapted to the sweeping changes that have
occurred from craft design to automated computer imaging in the design
process. Now, even more radical changes are implied in the decision-making
and thinking-based skills that seem to be heading the same way. What are
the future scenarios for designers (beyond the traditional parameters of
design practice) and the form of education that will be needed?

Program
The conference will follow conventional academic conference processes in
the form of keynote speeches and parallel tracks of seminar papers but it
will also be designed to provide enhanced opportunities for interactivity
by delegates in facilitated workshops. This is intended to raise awareness
of the issues and also provide the time (in addition to generous coffee
and lunch breaks) for academics to both formally and informally discuss
design education issues while they are gathered together. (Details to be
announced later.)

An important element of the conference will be to encourage pre- and
post-conference debate through electronic discussion forums. Delegates
will be able to read the papers and prepare for the workshops before
arriving in Perth - and be able to follow up these exchanges during and
after the actual conference. There will be a pre-conference workshop on
campus (Sunday 10 December) for those who can arrive for the weekend.

Conference abstracts will be made available before the event through the
conference website and papers will be available in print and on the
website during and after the conference. Continuing post-conference debate
will be encouraged through this website and a mailing list. A summary of
the issues and recommendations arising from the workshops, together with a
selection of papers will be published in a post conference book.

Deadlines	
1 Registration of interest only, commencing from 		Friday 30
June
2 Deadline for abstracts submission	 		Friday 4 August
3 Notification to authors				Friday 15
September
4 Early registration					Friday 29
September
5 Full papers submitted by				Friday 20 October
6 Final registration for conference			Friday 3 November
7 Referee results on full papers			Friday 10 November
8 All conference papers posted on website		Friday 24 November
9 Pre-conference Workshop				Sunday 10 December
10 Conference opening				Monday 11 December
11 Conference close				Wednesday 13 December
12 Post conference publication (selected papers)	March 2001

Registration
Delegates will be required to pay the conference fee of $490 (Australian
dollars). This will include attendance at all of the sessions,
refreshments and welcome reception. Accommodation (see below) and meals
are additional and are the responsibility of the individual delegates to
arrange.

Payment may be made electronically or by fax - see details on the website.

Accommodation
Accommodation has been allocated at two locations: 

1 Student accommodation - adjacent to the Campus. This is newly built
student accommodation that was designed for dual use for residential
conferences, single bedrooms, self-catering, shared bathroom and kitchen.
These units are a 5 minute walk across the green campus environment of
Curtin University. Site map.

2 Broadwater Pagoda Hotel in Como, is a few kilometres from Curtin
University Campus. The Broadwater Pagoda is a four-star hotel with full
restaurant and spa facilities, and so on. 

Bookings can be made through the conference website.

Conference location
Curtin University of Technology is in Perth, Western Australia and the
campus is situated in the suburb of Bentley, approximately 5 kilometres
from the city centre. December is the early summer season with an ideal
climate for a caf culture and informal discourse. The John Curtin Centre
(including its art gallery), the Elizabeth Jolly Lecture Theatre and
adjacent seminar spaces - not forgetting the Kirribilli Caf - are ideally
suited to conference activities.

Perth is the capital city of a State that is larger than Western Europe.
Tourist attractions are numerous, from the city environs (including the
old port of Fremantle) to an immense outback. Delegates are encouraged to
take advantage of the Mediterranean climate and have a (winter?) break in
the Ozzie summer. See links to the WA Tourist Board on the website. 
Professor Cal Swann MA FDIA FCSD
School of Design, Curtin University of Technology
PO Box U 1987.  Perth WA 6845. Australia
Phone 08 9266 4018. Fax 08 9266 2980
Publications: 'Techniques of typography' Lund Humphries
'Language and typography' Lund Humphries

home page: http://staff.curtin.edu.au/~rswannc/

Also visit our Master of Design Website at URL:
http://www.curtin.edu.au/learn/unit/Design/







%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%