Short News #47

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Delegation from Hong Kong Visits DCDR

On 14 March 2012 the DCDR welcomes a delegation from Hong Kong. The occasion for the visit is Denmark’s new status as a partner country in the biggest design event in Asia: Hong Kong Business of Design Week, which takes place in December 2012. The delegation includes representatives from the Hong Kong Design Center, Hong Kong Trade Development Association, Hong Kong Design Ambassadors, Hong Kong Design Institute and Hong Kong Polytechnic University, School of Design.

The purpose of the delegation’s visit to Denmark is to introduce the delegates to a wide range of 21st-century Danish design. The delegation will be visiting many different design firms, companies, museums and agencies, including the Danish Centre for Design Research.

The purpose of Denmark’s partnership aims is to promote Denmark as a design society and to build relevant relations – on the level of individual companies as well as society at large.

Doctoral Colloquium and Research Seminar

On 6 March 2012 the Danish Centre for Design Research held a Doctoral Colloquium at the conference centre Klarskovgaard by the Danish town of Korsør. The event gave the centre’s PhD scholars a chance to discuss their projects with each other and with two external senior researchers: Monika Hestad, design researcher at Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design, University of the Arts in London, UK and Jonas Löwgren, professor at the School of Arts and Communication, Malmö University in Sweden.

In direct extension of the colloquium and lasting until the end of 7 March 2012, the researchers associated with the centre, including the PhD scholars, met for a research seminar with the theme ‘Fremtidige designforskningsprojekter og deres finansiering’ (Future design research projects and their funding). This section included presentations from the Danish Agency for Science, Technology and Innovation about the EU’s 7th framework programme, the upcoming programme Horizon 2020, and the Agency’s work with the so-called Forsk2020 (Research 2020) catalogue. The research seminar also featured a presentation by Associate Professor Preben Mogensen, Department of Computer Science at Aarhus University, who shared his experiences from participating in EU-funded projects and evaluating applications for EU funds. The seminar was concluded with a group session to uncover possible collaboration areas across the schools of design and architecture.

Three Issues of Artifact Are Now Freely Available Online

In the process of relaunching the design research journal Artifact we are now up to Vol 1, No 3, which has the general title The Interaction of Practice and Theory. This issue contains nine research articles, which can either be read online or downloaded as pdf-files. The relaunch of Artifact is an example of the global phenomenon Open Access, where research articles of the highest calibre are published and made freely available to the benefit of society. Artifact Vol 1 No 3 is available here.

Where is Architecture and Design Research Headed?

Research-based education, education-based research, research through design and artistic development work. These are some of the terms and concepts used by researchers. But what do they mean, and how are they implemented in practice? Claus Peder Pedersen, head of research at the Aarhus School of Architecture, shares his insights into the topic.

Read the article on the website of the Aarhus School of Architecture (in Danish only).

SuperFormLab

SuperFormLab  – the Lab for Ceramic Design and 3D Form-Giving - is the latest new addition to the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts, School of Design: a workshop for experiments and innovation. In 2011 the SuperFormLab was created as a state-of-the-art workshop for 3D form-giving with an emphasis on experiments involving ceramics, plaster, concrete and glass. The Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts, School of Design has published a feature article from the workshop where students, teachers and researchers together create new possibilities and design solutions for anything from the human body over the dining table to architecture.

Read the article on the website of the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts, School of Design (in Danish only).

You can also read about the research cluster Form:Lab.

National Innovation Strategy Aimed at Generating Jobs and Growth

The Danish government plans to launch a comprehensive, ambitious innovation strategy aimed at speeding up the process from public investments in research, development, innovation and education to growth and jobs in the private sector. The government is now initiating an intensive process to be able to present a new innovation strategy by autumn 2012.

The world is facing major challenges, for example in regard to climate changes, energy supply and an aging world population – and Denmark is facing issues related to low productivity and growth.

The government sees the ability to turn new ideas into innovative solutions as the key to creating new jobs to replace those that are lost and in meeting the challenges facing society in general.
"Our investments in research, innovation and education should be translated into growth and employment to the benefit of society. Denmark should be a nation of solutions, and this innovation strategy will help to liberate us from existing set-ups and conventional thinking," says Higher Education Minister Morten Østergaard (R) in a press release.

The government has established an inter-departmental coordination group, and in the coming months it will initiate a comprehensive analysis effort with assistance from the EU, among others, where companies, organisations, experts, public sector institutions and other actors are invited to take part in the debate about Denmark’s current competences and the competences that will be required to identify unique Danish innovation potentials and needs.

You can follow the process here.