Dear Colleagues,
Interesting Web site.
Seems to be a good
teaching tool and a
lively experiment.
Check out the Global
Design Network by
clicking on the link labeled,
Design that Matters.
Ken Friedman
The Internet allows us to link millions of people worldwide and solve
computationally intensive problems by using thousands of computers
(e.g., distributed.net or SETI@home). Could one develop an analogous
method of using the creative thinkcycles of people everywhere to work
on global design challenges? ThinkCycle is an academic, non-profit
initiative engaged in supporting distributed collaboration towards
design challenges among underserved communities and the environment.
ThinkCycle seeks to create a culture of open-source design
innovation, with ongoing collaboration among individuals, communities
and organizations around the world.
http://www.thinkcycle.org/home
General description:
About ThinkCycle
Approach
At the heart of the community is an evolving database of reasonably
well-posed problems and ongoing design solutions contributed by
universities, Non-Govermental Organizations (NGOs), companies and the
general public. The system is primarily aimed at, but in no way
limited to, using the design and engineering skills of the students
in high schools and universities worldwide. One scenario is for
professors to assign challenges to their students, assist them in
working collaboratively with communities and organizations in
developing countries while encouraging peer review from domain
experts of evolving design solutions archived on ThinkCycle. The
objective is to document all evolving design solutions, rationale,
processes, peer reviews and contributions within a searchable and
cross-referenced system. Distributed and shared intellecual property
issues are approached by maintaining all contributions for individual
projects on the system (more on this issue will be formalized soon,
as we work closely with our current ThinkCycle design teams).
Teachers and academics now have a resource for selecting interesting,
applied problems while students gain experience in working on
challenging real-world projects. Design teams can approach partner
organizations for support in extending their work on the field and
the development of subsequent products and services. NGOs,
practitioners and researchers now have a resource for sharing
problems and design challenges, while the general public benefit from
open-source access to innovative design, and a new generation of
individuals working on problems that matter for the environment and
our communities.
Global Design Network:
Global Design Network in Spring 2002
The DtM design studio and dyd workshop have both emphasized that the
critical challenges of sustainable development and the environment
must continue to be addressed by meaningful collaboration among
various institutions. Faculty and students at several universities
around the world have now taken the initiative to develop similar
design studios, which will be run in conjunction with the MIT Studio
in Spring 2002 (Feb-May). Each studio will be run in a unique manner
with participation of local organizations and ongoing collaboration
among the schools. The following studio courses are part of the
Global Design Network:
Learning from Grassroots Innovators, Bangalore, India
Srishti School of Art, Design & Technology
Indian Institute of Sciences (IISC)
National Innovation Foundation
Lead Contacts: Poonam Kasturi and Vijay Chandru
Collaborative Design Studios, Lisbon, Portugal
IST, Technical University of Lisbon
GASA-FCT-UNL, New University of Lisbon
Lead Contacts: Manuel Heitor and Julia Seixas
Design that Matters, Cambridge, USA
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Lead Contacts: Timothy Prestero and Nitin Sawhney
Website: http://www.thinkcycle.org/dtm
Social Design Studio, Sao Paulo, Brazil
University of Sao Paulo with network of organizations
Lead Contact: Gilson Schwartz
UoN Design Studio, Nairobi, Kenya
University of Nairobi with ITDG and Approtech
Lead Contact: Dr. Kamau Gachigi
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