The global goals for sustainable transitions require new design strategies, new forms of cooperation and unexpected alliances. The Lucerne School of Art and Design (HSLU), Switzerland, and the National Institute of Design (NID), Ahmedabad, India, are collaborating in an international doctoral studies programme to explore the diverse landscape of eco-social innovation by design.
Contributions from the design disciplines towards sustainable development often aim at the use of less harmful materials, the adaptation of more efficient processes, improvements of construction principles or the alignment of individual behaviour. However, designers also contribute to sustainable development by shaping the framework conditions of innovative social practices, mediating and navigating between academic disciplines, professional methods and cultural conventions at the four orders of design: from graphics and products to interactions and systems. The results of these interventions might be goods and services, educational experiences, grassroots innovations or co-created visions for desirable futures.
The programme is open to educators and professionals in design and allied fields who seek to reinvent the basis of their own knowledge and practice while pushing the boundaries of the design disciplines by creating new grounded theories. It encourages research scholars to be ‘learning by doing’ and in ‘learning from the field’ and it prepares them for senior positions in education, private or public sector organisations, or for eco-social entrepreneurship. Research scholars benefit from the diversity of perspectives, the inter-regional sharing of academic practice and problem-solving strategies, the plurality of innovation cultures and the opportunity to study and conduct use-inspired research within an intercultural environment in Switzerland and India.
The National Institute of Design (NID) is widely known internationally as one of the leading educational and research institutions for industrial, communication, textile and integrated design and it has close ties to the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts through a long-standing partnership and fruitful exchange of knowledge in practice-oriented research and sustainable innovation. Research scholars benefit from a diverse range of transdisciplinary courses and opportunities for academic collaboration and knowledge sharing. The PhD candidates may define individual, bespoke course loads to suit their specific requirements and needs. Mentoring and supervision is provided by guides from the NID and co-guides from the HSLU faculty as part of the cooperation programme. The PhD certificate will be issued by NID.
Further Information
Contributions from the design disciplines towards sustainable development often aim at the use of less harmful materials, the adaptation of more efficient processes, improvements of construction principles or the alignment of individual behaviour. However, designers also contribute to sustainable development by shaping the framework conditions of innovative social practices, mediating and navigating between academic disciplines, professional methods and cultural conventions at the four orders of design: from graphics and products to interactions and systems. The results of these interventions might be goods and services, educational experiences, grassroots innovations or co-created visions for desirable futures.
The programme is open to educators and professionals in design and allied fields who seek to reinvent the basis of their own knowledge and practice while pushing the boundaries of the design disciplines by creating new grounded theories. It encourages research scholars to be ‘learning by doing’ and in ‘learning from the field’ and it prepares them for senior positions in education, private or public sector organisations, or for eco-social entrepreneurship. Research scholars benefit from the diversity of perspectives, the inter-regional sharing of academic practice and problem-solving strategies, the plurality of innovation cultures and the opportunity to study and conduct use-inspired research within an intercultural environment in Switzerland and India.
The National Institute of Design (NID) is widely known internationally as one of the leading educational and research institutions for industrial, communication, textile and integrated design and it has close ties to the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts through a long-standing partnership and fruitful exchange of knowledge in practice-oriented research and sustainable innovation. Research scholars benefit from a diverse range of transdisciplinary courses and opportunities for academic collaboration and knowledge sharing. The PhD candidates may define individual, bespoke course loads to suit their specific requirements and needs. Mentoring and supervision is provided by guides from the NID and co-guides from the HSLU faculty as part of the cooperation programme. The PhD certificate will be issued by NID.
Further Information