Princeton University and Keller Center sent a three-person delegation to the annual Future of Design in Higher Education (FDHE) Convening, hosted this year by University of Pennsylvania. We asked Rafe Steinhauer (Lecturer and Program Manager, Keller Center), Mecquel (Instructor, Lewis Center and Tiger Challenge adviser), and Aaron Kurosu (GS5, Psychology) for one thing they learned and one thing they shared at the convening:
Rafe
One thing I learned: “How other programs are helping their student teams create fantastic project-reports that are shared with community partners and other University stakeholders.”
One thing I shared: “The importance of also designing ‘upstream.’ I shared how and why to understand policymakers (within society and within our universities) as complex humans for whom better design can help bring about more equitable and joyful communities.”
Mecquel
One thing I learned: “There is an entire field full of Rafes: kind, open, and fun-loving people who deeply care about how to design a better experience for all people including our most vulnerable.”
One thing I shared: “They invited me to open our last day with a mindfulness practice as a brief example of the kind of work I’m doing with Tiger Challenge. We had the FDHE room ‘waking up the body’, noticing sensations, focusing attention and practicing observation of experience.”
Aaron
One thing I learned: "A group at Northwestern shared a powerful platform they're developing called loft.io. Imagine Blackboard, yet specifically tailored for supporting design programs!”
One thing I shared: "I shared our plans for empirically and quantitatively researching the impact of design and design-related programs, along with an offer (greeted with astounding support) for other schools to participate and collaborate."