Capacity for sustainability: the changing contexts of design education

Year: 2009
Editor: Clarke, A, Ion, W, McMahon, C and Hogarth, P
Author: O'Rafferty, Simon; Curtis, Hannah; O'Connor, Frank
Section: SUSTAINABLE DESIGN
Page(s): 414-419

Abstract

The role of design education is evolving due to structural changes in industry and society. These changes include the strategic positioning of design in business, new demographics of ageing, globalisation and the sustainable development agenda. It has been suggested that we are at a critical point in time where a radical transformation of socio-technical systems is required to avert the worst potential impacts of climate change, social inequality and resource depletion. Therefore, the competencies that professional designers require are increasingly trans-disciplinary and diverse. These new competencies need to be reflected in design education, life long learning and entrepreneurship training. Building capacity for sustainable development in education is one of the key areas within the international implementation scheme for the United Nations Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (ESD). Capacity building is an iterative process that incorporates the building of frameworks, work cultures, policies, processes and systems enabling an organisation or individual to improve performance to achieve successful outcomes. This paper will explore the context of capacity building for sustainable development as it relates to design practice and education. It builds upon a previous paper by the authors which addressed the broad challenges to capacity building in design education. Based on these theoretical and empirical insights the paper will propose a conceptual framework of key competencies for ecodesign education.

Keywords: Higher education, capacity building, ecodesign, competencies