Re-orienting PhD Education in

1

• Re-orienting PhD Education in
• Industrial design
• issues arising from the experience of a
• PhD programme revision(s)
• Silvia Pizzocaro
• Facoltà del Design - Politecnico di Milano
  
• To be presented at the Artistic Research workshop
  Bauhaus-Universität Weimar October 2008

2
A beginning

• Italy and Milano have a long tradition in the
  practice of product design, a profession dating
  back of the early years of the century, well
  based on local crafts and industries.
• In spite of this, national accreditation of
  education in design dates back of about 18
  years.

3
The in-progress experience

• This outline is meant to render in short
• the trajectory of ideas permeating the activity
  of this Ph.D. programme
• the emphasis on the relevance of the Ph.D.
  programmes in industrial design as research
  strategic sites, where efforts are concentrated
  to produce collective learning.

4

• This contribution is not intended to assess the
  results of the past and present transitions (the
  very last revision just forthcoming).
• Rather, it pinpoints some elements of
• a progressive shift from searching in design to
  learning how to make research in design.

5
Steps

• 1990
• The Politecnico di Milano opened the first
  Ph.D. programme in design
• the PhD in Industrial design.
• 1993
• The Degree course in Industrial design was
  started.
• 1999-2000
• The School of Design was formally opened.

6
Steps

• 2000
• The PhD programme was radically revised and
  now named PhD in Industrial design and Multimedia
  communication.
• 2004
• The School of Design adopted the new structure
  (323) depending on the revision of the Italian
  academic system.

7
Present status

• 2008-in progress
• All PhD programmes at Politecnico di Milano were
  drastically revised and their number decreased.
• Now named PhD programme in Design, this
  programme now joins four previously autonomous
  programmes
• the PhD in Industrial design and multimedia
  communication, the PhD in Interior design, the
  PhD in Cultural heritage design and the PhD in
  Methods of product development.

8
The context

• An enlarged area of goods industry, public
  administrations, companies dealing with the
  design of communication, interiors, exhibitions
  and fashion, as well as sectors covering
  marketing and distribution.
• A relevant number of entrepreneurs, experts,
  designers, practitioners in the areas of
  management, services and culture, as well as
  professional associations, often joining the
  local academics.

9
The academic context

• The Politecnico di Milano Technical University
  offers programmes in Architecture, Design and
  Engineering.
• In Italy the term "Politecnico" means a state
  university consisting only of study programmes in
  Engineering, Architecture and Design.
• The Politecnico di Milano is nowadays organised
  into 17 departments and a network of 9 Schools of
  Engineering, Architecture and Design.

10
The academic context

• The number of students enrolled in all campuses
  is approximately 40,000, which makes the
  Politecnico di Milano the largest institution in
  Italy for Engineering, Architecture and
  Industrial Design.
• There are now three study levels Laurea, Laurea
  Magistrale, Ph.D.

11
The Nineties

• At the beginning education in Design at the PhD
• level has been facing the critical issues
• deriving from the search vs. research
• transition in design.

12
PhD sites as incubators

• The starting of the Ph.D. programme was a step
  in the recognition that design research might be
  fruitfully carried on within some emergent sites,
  i.e. doctoral curricula, where research-oriented
  activities may converge and cluster independently
  from the applied research carried on within
  companies or professional laboratories.

13
Academic education in design research

• The Ph.D. programme was intended as a highly
• focused and intensive programme for reaching
  advanced knowledge in design theory, methods,
  processes and practice.
• The introduction of a research Ph.D. programme
  in design answered the explicit demand for high
  profile design researchers, while recognising a
  tacit demand for professional research education
  at the most advanced academic level.

14
Starting elements

• The original framework of the programme implied
  that
• proposed areas of research and the training
  programme overlapped,
• no clear separation could be identified between
  subjective reflection and objective search,
• the training activity did not formally include a
  taught component.

15
The dissertation as a goal

• The real core of the programme was mainly
• centred on the Ph.D. dissertation, as well as
• on the skills of the Ph.D. candidate to obtain
• relevant reflection results on a specific
• theme to be identified within large thematic
• areas.

16
Research curricula

• theory and history of design
• product design
• visual communication
• environmental issues

17
Domains of research

• Since 1990 the domains of research investigated
  by the doctoral activity were mainly centred on
  innovation-related phenomena and theory,
  emphasizing the orientation towards systemic
  approaches.
• A very broad view of innovation was assumed,
• i.e. a dynamic process related to the
  development or improving of new products,
  services, technology, processes, institutions,
  systems, solutions.

18

• An outline of some titles of dissertations
  developed along the first decade of the Ph.D.
  programme offers a view of such an approach
  Evolutionary Approaches to the Analysis of
  Products and Technical Systems (by the author,
  1994), The Household Appliances in The History of
  Artefacts (Riccini 1994), Design and New Models
  of Perception in The Mass Media Society (Ceppi
  1995), Innovation and Environment (Morelli 1995),
  Strategic Management of The Environmental Quality
  of Products Theory and Praxis (Mangiarotti
  1996), Environment, Products and Standardisation
  (Pratesi 1996).

19
Core questions

• But what is the purpose of doctoral design
  research? What is it useful for? Who is going to
  make use of it? What is its explicit or tacit or
  potential target? What is the nature of the
  marketplace it is directed to (considering the
  market in its broad acceptation of society as a
  whole)?
• (Ohio University, First conference Doctoral
  Education in Design, 1998)

20
Research as shelf innovation

• A preliminary meaning of design research was
  starting to take shape as something similar to
  shelf innovation, being the shelf concept that of
  storing solutions either conceptual or
  practical ready for future applications.

21
The 2000 transition

• In 2000 the Ph.D. programme was radically
  revised.
• The new frame for the programme now implied a
• conceptual transition
• from subjective reflection to objective activity
  of search,
• from informal training (centred on the advisor
  role) to formally structured research teaching,
• from identifying areas of research interest to
  building questions of research.

22
New conditions

• When facing the question of partially
  maintaining the former curricula or radically
  innovating the programme, the Faculty of Design
  chose to encourage a radical revision of the
  intention and structure of the programme, now
  re-designed as an advanced, partly taught
  training programme in research.

23
New conditions

• The whole doctoral programme was then
• articulated into two main directories
• industrial design
• multimedia communication,
• without any pre-determined preferred or
• preferable area of research.

24
Learning research

• At the same time it was structured into a grid
• of basic, main and elective courses,
• to be attended according to a defined plan, along
• with the development of the doctoral
• dissertation as well as the active
• participation in institutional research activity.
  

25
Training trajectories

• Research skills
• learning how to carry on research activity
• Research practice
• highly intensive thematic areas where
• research skills may be practiced

26
Training trajectories

• Research thinking
• learning how to compare research activity
• and research culture, how to acquire abilities
• of competence transfer, how to design
• opportunities of application and development
• Research outcomes
• Producing or fostering an original contribution
  to
• design knowledge.
•  

27
Programme requirements

• Doctoral students were asked
• to identify and focus on research issues that can
  constitute preferred
• research paths,
• to develop familiarity with research cultures
  converging towards
• industrial design and multimedial communication,
• to participate to the discourse on design
  research while contributing
• To the understanding design research.
•  

28
Skill development

• Capability to identify adequate, fruitful
  research issues / skills of research planning
• Capabilities to allocate a research project /
  skills of research domain mapping
• Capability to articulate a research project /
  skills of allocating an innovative approach of
  research
• Capability to use adequate research methodologies
  (if available) / skills of action on a research
  domain
• Capability to analyze, evaluate and develop an
  original perspective / skills of interpreting a
  research domain
• Capability to synthesize and communicate the
  research outcomes / skills of transmission,
  rendering and divulgation of research outputs.

29
Light on the nature of design practice and design
research

• A substantial change had occurred approaching
  design research had shed light on the nature of
  design practice and its relationship to design
  research.
• The approach to design research through the
  design project was becoming the emerging context
  of reference, thus joining the orientation to
  ground design research in practice, where
  practice is considered as a terrain and medium of
  study.

30
Practice and research

• A debate was taking shape on practice and
  research and well as on the practice of research.
• A point of doing research is to extract reliable
  knowledge and to make that knowledge available to
  others in re-usable form. This means that, to
  qualify as research, there must be reflection by
  the practitioner on the work, and the
  communication of some re-usable results from that
  reflection.

31
PhD sites as hubs

• Research sites where the complexity of research
  actions is made explicit.
• Research poles serving to capture key aspects
• of basic research development.
• Research centres where identifiable communities
  produce and ratify forms of design knowledge.

32
Research hubs

• Sites where research implies
• time to think,
• communities of people to think with,
• different forms of knowledge to fuel the
  thinking,
• and real-world experiences to keep the thinking
  under control.

33
New forms of knowledge

• addressing the core questions of the nature of
  design research itself,
• producing research results as well as research
  reflection,
• producing research outcomes as well as a culture
  of design research.

34
2004A new national university system

• 323

35
32 (3) system

• In 2004 the School of Design adopted
• the revised structure according
• to the restructuring of the Italian
• academic system.

36
Degrees

• The Laurea (first degree) is obtained after a
  3-year course of study. It aims at providing a
  robust foundation of the core scientific
  subjects as well as focused professional
  training.
• The Laurea Magistrale (Higher degree) is awarded
  
• after 2 more years of study and aims at offering
  rigorous, advanced training in highly specialized
  areas.
• The Ph.D. is awarded after 3 additional years
• of study and it aims at developing the
  professional competence to carry out advanced
  research.

37
Degrees

• Inserire lo schema livelli di laurea

38
Main effects

• Italian university has been traditionally based
  on an academic education organized in a linear
  and sequential manner, with theory first and
  practice that follows.
• The learning process is now interpreted as a
  more flexible inductive process, with theory
  informing practice and practice being grounded in
  theory.

39
Curricula in design

• Inserire lo schema dei curricula

40
Main effect for PhD programmes

• Strong efforts in integrating and
• absorbing doctoral research into
• academic research practice,
• carried on within departments.

41
2008 on going institutional change

• PhD in Industrial Design and Multimedia
  Communication
• PhD in Interior design
• PhD in Cultural heritage design
• PhD in Methods of product development
• ?
• PhD programme in Design

42
Open questions

• Weak culture of research
• Students under-performance
• Supervision
• The potential of mutual learning

43
Weak culture of research

• The more the local environment produces
  supportive, immersive, formal and informal
  interaction for PhD students (and Faculty), the
  higher results may then be expected from PhD
  students performance.

44
Student under-performance

• Difficulties and mistakes in
• assessing candidates attitude to
• research (to research activity in
• general) when entering the
• doctoral programme.

45
Supervisor under-performance

• Need of training for teachers involved in PhD
  programmes
• Learning research/teaching research
• Supervisors with mastery of a substantive area
  but no specific experience of doctoral
  dissertation

46
Mutual learning

• Difficulties in the recognition of
• all the potentials of mutual
• learning (Faculty/PhD students)