Nina Hale. Some rights reserved.

My memories of summer camps mainly include lakes, barbeques and tents, but the folks from the Copenhagen Institute of Interaction Design (CIID) and INDEX are running a camp with 40 student representatives from around the world to foster intercultural dialogue and use user-centred design techniques as a mechanism to “solve the global challenges of mankind.”

That is a far cry from learning how to properly roast a marshmallow. But seriously, there is much more information on the camp website. Hopefully the blog will help us follow along with the students and their journey.

Though Kevin McCullough’s article on Core77 is pitched to designers, there are several lessons to be learned by anyone looking to create design innovation. Globalisation has all but ended competition on price, and commoditised design services require designers to add more value to their own portfolio of skills.

Not only does he illustrate hidden assets beyond traditional design skills, he suggests four game changing habits than anyone can use: Adopt an agile perspective; spot gaps; make new connections; and teach yourself. Design thinking anyone?

via Metropolis

Peter Hall argues in this article that design schools need to shift focus from the form of objects to understanding the systems that produce them.

It is always comforting to have your own theories endorsed elsewhere. Here is Thomas Fisher, Dean of the University of Minnesota’s new School of Design :

“The idea of the design economy is that, for developed countries like ours, which cannot compete in a global marketplace on price or even quite often on the quality of a product, we have to compete on the basis of innovation, creativity and imagination, which takes you to design. By design, I don’t mean just aesthetics but function and cultural adaptability.”

Now, if America is saying this, how much more important is it for Ireland?

via Expedition …

What follows is an exploration of the way in which we might structure ourselves to survive the new century beautifully. It considers what we can do to engineer structures for the world in which we are to live, not simply as steel and concrete, but structures for work, learning, social structures and structures for thinking. It takes as its central theme the notion that as technology opens more and more doors, there will be a gathering need for people with ideas to direct it toward the common good. Although this sounds pious, it could be incredibly fertile territory for broad-minded engineers and specialists alike, a maturing of our role on the planet.

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As we look into the future, what skills and behaviors will our future graduates need to possess? Have a look at the portfolio of projects already under the belt of Zachary Jean Paradis, still in his last semester as a graduate student at the Chicago Institute of Design. If you are a company looking to compete in the new value-driven economy, you’re in luck. If you’re applying for the same job and see him sitting outside for the next interview, I wish you luck.

Anyone else want to go back to school?

Design is increasingly becoming established as a means for strategic innovation both for companies and in society: Domus Academy, which in 2007 is celebrating 25 years of activity, leads this progressive trend with its teaching and research work. In inauguration of the academic year which marks it “quarter century”, Domus Academy organised an important round table coordinated by Luca de Biase on the theme “What kind of design for the global market”.

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Domus Academy

Via Core77 …

Traditional business models are failing in the face of global competition, and American companies are scouring design schools for design-innovators to lead them into the twenty-first century with creative strategies. Great. But the question is, where will these young designers lead us?

So how can young designers prepare to contribute to this changing face of business and industry? Many design programs are sending their students to business classes in order to learn the language of corporations. But how can young designers learn not only to speak this language, but to expand upon its vocabulary toward the goal of implementing Triple P strategies of people, planet, profit?

Enlightened Innovation by Xanthe Matychak & David Morgan

At a December Symposium at MIT, keynote Speaker John Seely Brown spoke about the changing face of education.

Via Assodigitale …

His wide-ranging talk, “Relearning Learning–Applying the Long Tail to Learning,” dealt with the difficult job of preparing students for a rapidly evolving world.

With today’s markets and technologies mutating at aggressive speeds, Brown said, “It makes no sense to train someone for a career; at most, a career trajectory.” The Cartesian model of education, in which knowledge is perceived as a substance to be decanted from the teacher’s mind to the students’, served the United States well when we were a nation of farmers and factory workers. That model is meaningless in the world that students now face. Rather, Brown believes, we must move toward an “atelier” model of education, in which work is undertaken in an open, shared environment, where students can see each other’s work develop from idea to final design, hear the critiques of that work, and learn from each member of the group how he or she incorporates criticism and suggestion.

This of course demands that the educators change as well, that they cease being the “sage on a stage” and become something more like a mentor. Brown cited studies showing that these more socially connected educational environments, when implemented in science and engineering classes, also boost the retention of groups often characterized by large attrition rates, e.g., women and minority students. He noted how technology can be leveraged to tap exciting pools of talent and innovation around the world, and to spark a new culture of teaching and learning.

Related links:

Learning Without Barriers Symposium
John Seely Brown : Chief of Confusion
Original article

At Texas A&M, Professor Rodney Hill is teaching his class critical thinking as part of his Design Process course.

Creativity is the currency of the new millennium. While all the University curriculums are providing our students with knowledge they need to operate in their chosen domain, not all of them are preparing students for a world that is in accelerating change,” Hill said. “The students’ ability to create and generate new knowledge is essential to survive in the 21st Century.”

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