Professorship Design and Social Innovation

The lab is involved in projects that lie at the intersection of research-education, education-society, and society-research (see Figure 1). Each circle represents a project. The size of the circle indicates the duration of the project, the grayscale shading reflects the phase of the project (dark gray for completed projects, medium gray for ongoing projects, and light gray for preliminary projects), and the colored circles around the dot reflect the dimensions of the project (purple: institutional, yellow: regional, blue: interregional). The names of the organizations we collaborate with on the project are associated with each circle. Last updated in January 2025.

Axes:

1. Research-Education: The projects aim to bridge the gap between theoretical research and practical applications in educational institutions, promoting dynamic exchanges that ensure research informs education and vice versa.
2. Education-Society: This intersection focuses on leveraging education as a catalyst for social change, with initiatives that promote social innovation through community engagement and participation.
3. Society-Research: The projects emphasise investigating societal issues through empirical methods such as ethnography and GIS cartography within design research, where societal challenges shape the research questions, and the research outcomes contribute to understanding these challenges.

Dimensions:

1. Institutional: These projects address social issues within specific organizations, focusing on internal policy-making, diversity initiatives, and training to promote ethical and inclusive practices.
2. Regional: These projects utilize participatory approaches, collaborating with local stakeholders and organizations to tackle regional inequalities and social issues.
3. Interregional: These are projects that address social issues that cross regional or national boundaries. They employ comparative analyses and transnational collaborations to tackle shared challenges such as water scarcity or nuisance.

By strategically positioning projects along these axes, the chair demonstrates a holistic approach to social innovation that is responsive to diverse perspectives, scales, and contexts.