Admission Requirements
There are no specific prerequisites for the attendance of the course

Learning Outcomes

Upon completion of the course, the student is able to:

Knowledge

• Critically reflect on and synthesize theories and methodologies aimed at sustainable transition design
• Account for methods aimed at visualizing and analysing complex socio-technical-ecological systems

Skills

• Apply systems thinking perspectives in design processes targeting complex challenges
• Analyse consequences of different design decisions in complex systems settings
• Plan, organise and practically execute a project using appropriate methods, with a particular focus systems thinking and complex systems
• Apply methods for the design, research, planning, execution, and evaluation of projects aimed at sustainability transitions

Competences

• analyse and critically reflect on their own working process in relation to theories about sustainable transition design

Programme
This course gives insights in perspectives and approaches to support sustainability transitions in design. The course introduces design perspectives such as design thinking, transition design, more-than-human design, and circular product design, with a particular focus on practical explorations of contemporary design and development methods for sustainable design. A large part of the course is a design project with external challenge givers providing a challenge aiming for sustainable transitions.

References

Course Book Candidates

• Escobar, A. (2018). Designs for the pluriverse: Radical interdependence, autonomy, and the making of worlds. Duke University Press.
• Wakkary, R. (2021). Things we could design: For more than human-centered worlds. MIT press.

Research Papers

• Blevis 2007. Sustainable Interaction Design: Invention & Disposal, Renewal & Reuse. http://doi.acm.org/10.1145/1240624.1240705
• DiSalvo et al 2010. Mapping the Landscape of Sustainable HCI. http://doi.acm.org/10.1145/1753326.1753625
• Frauenberger Entanglement HCI The Next Wave? http://doi.org/10.1145/3364998

First, second and third order effects of ICT on the environment

• Börjesson Rivera et al 2014.  Including Second Order Effects in Environmental Assessments of ICT http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1364815214000565

Economic models

• https://www.kateraworth.com/doughnut/

Leverage points  

• Meadows Leverage Points: Places to Intervene in a System. http://www.donellameadows.org/wp-content/userfiles/Leverage_Points.pdf
• Penzenstadler Software Engineering for Sustainability Find the Leverage Points! https://dx.doi.org/10.1109/MS.2018.110154908

More-than-human-centered design

• Clarke et al 2019. More-Than-Human Participation: Design for Sustainable Smart City Futures. https://dl.acm.org/doi/pdf/10.1145/3319075
• Poikolainen Rosen et al 2022. Towards more-than-human-centered-design: Learning from gardening.
• Liu 2018: Out of Control: Reframing Sustainable HCI Using Permaculture.  http://doi.acm.org/10.1145/3232617.3232625
• From human-centred to life-centred design: Considering environmental and ethical concerns in the design of interactive products https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666659622000099?via%3Dihub

Teaching Methodology

• Lectures
• Workshops
• Project work

ECTS Credits
7,5 ECTS Credits

Period
III semester

Examination methodology

Individual written assignment (40%)
Project report, with oral presentation (60%)

Relevance
This course introduces methods and theories focusing on designing transitions in complex systems. The course is to a large extent a project course, making it possible for students in the programme to apply knowledge acquired in previous courses. The course complements the systems thinking perspectives in the programme, with a design thinking perspective, highlighting how to achieve transitions and change in complex socio-ecological systems.

Release
New Course