The Nordcode Network: A Scandinavian Approach to Doctoral Education in Design
Year: 2012
Editor: Lyndon Buck, Geert Frateur, William Ion, Chris McMahon, Chris Baelus, Guido De Grande, Stijn Verwulgen
Author: Keitsch, Martina Maria
Series: E&PDE
Institution: Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Norway
Section: Postgraduate Design Education
Page(s): 705-710
ISBN: 978-1-904670-36-0
Abstract
Artefacts play an important role in culture and society and contribute to how we see, interpret and communicate about the world. However, scientific knowledge on how these artefacts are designed, interpreted and used is still undeveloped in the design community and research on design and its implications on individuals, culture and society still forming. Discussing the topic of knowledge generation and dissemination in design on a doctoral level, this article presents experiences from the Nordic Network for Research on Communicative Product Design (Nordcode). Among other activities, Nordcode has organized joint seminars for doctoral students between 2004 and 2008. One goal of the PhD seminars was to enable discussions on on-going research, facilitating the development of new research methodologies and the training of PhD-students. Following the introduction, the second section of the article introduces the Nordcode doctoral seminars and discusses contents, results and organization form as collaborative, non-competitive approach to doctoral education in design that allows PhD students to get feedback on their research. The third section appraises forms of knowledge generation and dissemination in the seminars with help of examples, in order to motivate educators to develop new forms of cooperation across European borders. Conclusively, section four illustrates possibilities for novel PhD curricula and indicates future tasks connected with a common PhD education in the design disciplines.
Keywords: PhD curricula in design, interdisciplinary exchange, knowledge transfer, generation and dissemination of research, Scandinavian and European cooperation