Looking for Speculative Design educational programs in Europe
Are you a Design Educator in Europe? Please take part in our Speculative Design Education survey.
In order to progress our work we wish to compile a comprehensive overview of the discipline in the European context. If you are involved in the development or delivery of a university level educational programme in Europe that includes an element of Speculative Design or a related topic, we would love to hear from you.
The SpeculativeEdu Project is investigating novel educational skills and practices for the 21st century; inter and multidisciplinary, especially focused on the relations between technology, people and society. Speculative design and related practices such as critical sdesign, design fiction, etc. have extended their influence over the past few years, and have been increasingly adopted by designers in their everyday practice. Consequently there is growing interest in design education related to these practices.
We consider that “Speculative Design” is a significant example of new design practices focused on “problem finding” rather than “problem solving”. It is a discursive practice, based on critical thinking and dialogue, which questions the practice of design. However, a speculative design approach takes critical practice one step further; towards new future imaginaries or alternative possible trajectories. Speculative design is also one of the most representative examples of interdisciplinary practice.
Although the knowledge base is growing there remains a need for a comprehensive case-study based academic textbook focused on the design methodology of speculative design practice.
The main objectives of the SpeculativeEdu project
- to collect, exchange, reflect upon, develop and advance educational practice in the area of speculative design;
- to create new (and strengthen existing) partnerships in the field of speculative design education with particular emphasis on forging interactions between designers and experts from related disciplines;
- to promote speculative design as as an educational approach and mode of critical thinking;
- to develop a Speculative Design Toolkit comprising of a Textbook and associated pedagogic resources.
