Learning design research: outlining a context
Critical issues derived from the Politecnico di Milano Ph.D. research curricula in industrial design Online publication date: Wed, 10-Aug-2005
by Silvia Pizzocaro
J. of Design Research (JDR), Vol. 4, No. 1, 2004
Abstract: Design has a long professional tradition in Italy. In spite of this, national accreditation of the Ph.D. research programmes in design dates back only fifteen years (1990), followed by the awards of degrees (Laurea) in industrial design, which were established in 1993.
Thus, although consolidated in its vocational character, industrial design is still in its infancy as an academic discipline of university level and a rather young field of academic enquiry.
Design curricula are still in progress and new perspectives are being developed on the form and nature of academic design research.
This contribution proposes a reflection on some critical issues stemming from the progressive shift from searching in design to learning how to make research in design. To guide and develop this vision some elements are derived from the design research reflective experiences carried on within the Ph.D. programme in industrial design at Politecnico di Milano.
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