Conference Agenda

One of the takeaways from distance learning during the COVID-19 lockdown was that virtual labs and mixed-reality lessons needed to be attractively designed. The MxRP simulator based on replicating processes of an ERP system of a virtual car assembly company, models based on Meccanos, were used.

Surveys were carried out with students and teachers to improve virtual and augmented reality practices. As a strategy to bring the lessons to the intramural education of the Tecnologico, or Academic Extension, models of their own cars and planes were designed to take advantage of our student's creativity.

The prototypes of these models were built by 3D printing and machining through a magnet-based clamping model to replicate the same experience in both augmented and virtual reality of the assemblies. Models previously built by our students for automotive and aerospace competitions were also digitized, creating digital twins for learning.

The paper shows the process of design, prototyping, and construction of these models with the help of students and professors of the research group. The collaboration of schools of Design and Architecture, Industrial Engineering, Mechanics, and Mechatronics for creating and manufacturing these models.

Technological advances lead us to replicate professions through virtual and augmented reality, as well as the creation of digital twins to increase the quality, efficiency, and manufacturing of a product.

This paper focuses on resolving language barriers within the context of co-habitation for displaced communities, specifically between Syrian immigrant parents and Turkish teachers within the Turkish education system. It has been often reported that Syrian immigrant parents, the majority of immigrants in Turkiye, cannot be part of their children’s education period because of language problems which negatively affects immigrant students’ success as well as welfare of the community in a long-term period. This paper offers a framework of parameters for human centred design and information design, in addition to new educational support strategies, methods and mentoring, that can be relied upon to help students and graduates address current and future challenges for responsible innovation.

The paper will expand on the detailed findings that Syrian parents and local teachers might not be able to maintain a dialogue due to language limitations, negatively affecting the success of Syrian students. Hence, this paper proposes an analysis of language barriers between Syrian parents and Turkish teachers including literature review and case studies. It has been reported that language barriers extend beyond language limitations, to other factors associated with ‘unfamiliarity with the issue’, ‘emotional barriers’, ‘cultural differences’, and ‘personal features’ according to context, that benefits from a design-led multi-perspective approach.

In this paper, we present ten (10) preliminary principles for designer resilience. These principles are generated from the results of workshops with Dutch design students, global educators, researchers and design practitioners, conducted over the last eighteen months. We identify students’ needs for resilience towards challenges inherent to the design process; concerns about impact on people and planet; pressure to perform; and shaping future design careers. We further establish a pedagogical foundation to promote resilience and wellbeing via the presented principles for designer resilience.

Product designers are being increasingly challenged to innovate, whilst also having the responsibility to reduce the impact on the planet of the products they design. This paper explores and tests the use of a Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) methodology to drive sustainable innovation in a design sprint process to identify opportunities, validate decisions and deliver compelling evidence to push further the boundaries of what may seem improbable improvements to reach greater sustainable credentials.

Alpkit (an award winning outdoor and bike brand), were already forging a lead in developing carbon light outdoor gear, and offered the challenge to seek further opportunities to do more good, to target further reduction in their carbon ‘footprint’ of their Soloist tent whilst also looking to improve their social ‘handprint’. Alpkit were enrolled in Nottingham Trent University’s (NTU) Sustainability in Enterprise (SiE) programme (part-funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF)), which sets out to help small/medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Greater Nottingham on their journey to Net Zero. Alpkit alongside NTU SIE project team were also afforded the opportunity to work with the Design Matter group to lead the LCA tool delivery. Fifty-four students enrolled on NTU’s BSc Product Design course were mixed with seventeen international exchange students (enrolled onto the European Project Semester (EPS)) were set the project brief to reduce the carbon footprint of the Soloist tent, working as design consultants throughout the project.

The methodology utilized focused on a two-week event, whereby the students embraced the already deep learning of the existing product and its development through an immersion into the brand of Alpkit and further discovering opportunities through the use of an LCA tool. The LCA tool was tailored specifically to enable the granular investigation required to further improve an already carbon light product. The tool was used in an interactive design process to explore options and to seek the most impactful innovation delivering better sustainability outcomes. The paper details the methodology used, defines the detail and modification of the LCA tool and describes the level of granularity that would not otherwise be afforded if this tool was not embedded in the project.

The Life Cycle Analysis methodology enabled the students to think creatively and recognize the value and power of innovation through granular analysis and development. Learnings delivered through the analysis of this case study aim to prove the importance of data-driven design insights to add value and increase sustainability opportunities.