The Call Design 2030 | Education was launched at the end of 2019, to investigate how the 21st-century society major and profound transformations, due to the advent of the digital revolution, are also influencing or modifying the consolidated and historical educational models in the Design field. While we were developing this topic, we have been clashed, suddenly and unexpectedly, with the first and real global emergency (after the digital revolution) due to the virulent pandemic infection explosion. Despite we will never know if the results of this Call will be different without such pandemic emergency, this represents a significant opportunity to reflect on what is changing, at an unexpected and extraordinary rate, in the field of education. The harsh reality is overcoming all the given certainties, and today we are experiencing that now it is possible what we thought was impossible (just until a short time ago). Given these considerations, the call is opening a deep and wide reflection about the fluid and complex reality of Design education. From analyses and references of the past and present in their historical dimension, the aim is to focus on new and innovative training models, their general principles, the relationship between theoretical studies and practical activities, the relationship between the territory and the context of industrial and manufacturing production. Public and private academic institutions, associations, and networks are offering new methods and approaches, both thematic and multidisciplinary, in increasingly varied and articulated forms, so developing new and renovated educational models, giving an interpretation and intercepting a strong demand from society and its related offer. Today Design is widespread and pervasive, increasingly oriented towards improving and satisfying the quality of life in contemporary society. Design is experiencing a digital and computational ubiquity, even in its most traditional aspects. According to these reasons, this Call is exploring new teaching and learning paths in the Design Education, not only based on the different disciplinary articulations but also based on the different geographical, economic and political contexts. Indeed, Design is combining knowledge, disciplines and skills, representing a hybrid form both in contents and language. Design Education assumes various aspects of autonomy based on different local heritage, as well as, the contribution of academic, professional and the productive contexts. In this uncertain and transitory historical time, in this kaleidoscopic reality, a fundamental question arises: does it make sense to talk about a specific Design training or is Design becoming a key discipline for other training projects aimed to our evolving society?
Despite their differences, the tracks “Make” and “Focus” take into consideration some joint reflections. What are the boundaries of the Design discipline? What skills and competences should the designer have, also considering the different forms and articulations of the current training offer and demand? Can the relationship between research and teaching still be a discriminating point between professional training and the education oriented more towards social responsibility and critical awareness about the innovation and experimentation processes? What is the role and the impact of on-line teaching within the experimental education methods addressing intergenerational and intercultural audience? Is it still enough to have training based on the interaction between art, design and architecture? Can Design culture move over the humanistic and scientific culture in order to focus on the simpler capability to transform the human needs into products able to improve life and social relations?
The track “Make” aims to share training and educational experiences, both developed or under construction, with a robust experimental nature, as well as approaches and visions exploring new methods, tools and models. In many of these models, the pluralism of the philosophy and the thematic orientation characterise the contamination between the spheres of theory and practice, not always in a balanced way. Likewise, the training models develop new forms of aggregation and active and collaborative participation, related to professional associations, networks, co-design groups, open-source design communities, as appropriate solutions to the problems of contemporary society, in between the discontinuity from the past and the imagination of the future.
The Track “Focus” aims at investigating all those experiences, in which laboratories with digital and physical tools, are a major part of teaching and learning methods, out of the institutional educational contexts. These can be considered as training experiences at all levels – from primary school to higher education and life-long education – offered by institutions, companies, professional associations, public or private industrial research centres.