Dear Derek, Don, and Teena,

This is a quick note to address an issue Derek raised in a recent post.
Derek wrote:

“And a list serve, by the way, should NOT be the place where these
issues are settled. These discussions are like pub conversations AFTER
work in London. Fun, stimulating, and helpful to direct the mind towards
things, but proof of nothing and not the place or space to make
decisions about higher education.”

First, let’s be clear. We are not settling any issues here. We’re
sharing ideas and engaging in conversation. 

We’re not making decisions about higher education, either. The
PhD-Design list does not have that power. Only elected governments have
that power. In every nation, government delegates much of this decision
authority to agencies for higher education, quality assurance, and
research. They make the decisions about higher education, along with
accrediting bodies and others to whom the government delegates some
forms of authority over higher education. At the next level down,
university councils and senior university management make decisions
about higher education. Within universities, faculties and individual
scholars participate in the conversation that informs university-based
decisions.

A discussion list such as PhD-Design is a conversation forum that
interests and informs individual scholars. We settle nothing and decide
nothing here. The value of PhD-Design is its role as a global forum.

The PhD-Design list was established to continue a global conversation
following the first conference on doctoral education in design in
Columbus, Ohio. The list owners are Keith Russell of Newcastle
University in Australia, and David Durling of the Birmingham Institute
of Art and Design in England. They established the list as a service to
the larger field. The list took off after the second conference on
doctoral education in design in La Clusaz, France. It’s had some ups
and downs, but it has grown steadily since, and it is the largest and
most serious discussion list for design research in the world today. 

The list is an open forum where anyone may post ideas, request
requests, or comments on any topic of interest. Because it is open and
not moderated, there are great posts and nonsense, well-informed
comments and ignorant claims. There are some terrific posts here by
great participants. We’re free to ignore the rest. The purpose of the
list is to discuss doctoral education in design – and, by extension, a
wide range of issues concerning doctoral education, research training,
the nature of the PhD degree, the role of research in the design
profession, design education in the university, and more.

For me, the list is a vital node in a network of expanding dialog. The
value this list serves is that it is accessible to anyone with a web
connection or an email account. You don’t need to secure travel
funding to get to the list. You can take part no matter who or where you
are. From off-list conversations, I am aware that list participants
include many kinds of people. Some are the only research-interested
designer working in vocational design programs. Others are doctoral
students who do not have the skilled supervision they require for the
problems they face. Still others are senior researchers who find the
list useful for reflection and a source of debate and information for
their students. For senior researchers in mature research environments,
the list adds value to a busy life. But the list is a lifeline for
someone who may be the only researcher in a school that does no
research. It is sometimes the only useful source of information for
people whose doctoral supervisors have no research training. 

Don will be at IASDR. So will Terry, and so will I. But the list has
2,050 or so subscribers, and relatively few of these 2,050 will make
their way to Delft. Many subscribers get no support for their research.
Others face discouragement from colleagues who do not value research.
That’s why I see the list as a real public service, and I am grateful
to David and Keith for establishing the list maintaining it.

These days, I don’t have as much time to participate as I once did
except in spurts. I often simply lurk, reading threads that seem
especially vital. When I can take part, the list is a terrific place.
Where else can I chat with Derek Miller? For that matter, where else can
I chat every day with people I see one or twice a year at conferences? I
meet many of them here on PhD-Design.

The two lists I find most informative are PhD-Design and The Humanist,
an online seminar on humanities computing and the digital humanities.
Both give me a chance to chat with interesting people, and learn from
the conversations we hold.

Don’t worry about the deciding the future of higher education. All we
do here is engage in conversation. The only decisions we make involve
deciding what we think about what we read. It is fun and stimulating,
and it does help to direct the mind towards things worth thinking about.
That makes this an extremely valuable meeting place.

Warm wishes,

Ken

Professor Ken Friedman, PhD, DSc (hc), FDRS | University Distinguished
Professor | Dean, Faculty of Design | Swinburne University of Technology
| Melbourne, Australia | [log in to unmask] | Ph: +61
39214 6078 | Faculty