About the Project
Loughborough University is a top-ten rated university in England for research intensity (REF2014) and an outstanding 66% of the work of Loughborough’s academic staff who were eligible to be submitted to the REF was judged as ‘world-leading’ or ‘internationally excellent’, compared to a national average figure of 43%.
In choosing Loughborough for your research, you’ll work alongside academics who are leaders in their field. You will benefit from comprehensive support and guidance from our Graduate School, including tailored careers advice, to help you succeed in your research and future career.
Find out more: http://www.lboro.ac.uk/study/postgraduate/supporting-you/research/
Project Detail:
The need to improve the lives of everyone on the planet, with particular emphasis on reducing the inequality and tackling poverty by those living in developing countries is increasingly recognised by citizens, businesses, organisations and governments around the world (United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), 2015; Design Council, 2016).
The contribution of Design in this field is broadening and a variety of strategies have been proposed and applied towards this end for at least the past four decades now (for example, environmental design, social design, service design, open source design and distribution to name a few). More recently, the need to collaborate with multidisciplinary and cross-cultural approaches, to reorganise patterns of production and consumption, and to rethink institutions and organizations, has been increasingly recognised in understanding why previous attempts to tackle the longstanding, complex and diverse issues have failed systematically.
A grass-roots approach (including bottom up initiatives and governance innovations, new organisational models, strategic human-centred interactions), together with a participatory visioning of desired futures, hold potential to contribute to sustainability and are pivotal for triggering successful socio-technical transitions that fit users’ aspirations, cultural context and values. This research would begin to apply more rigorous approaches to investigating the use, application, and impact of the above together with the identification of strategic design solutions appropriate to local needs that contribute to the solving of grand societal challenges and the shaping of innovative futures. Potential scope of PhD proposals include studies focused on the UN SDGs. Particular design interests include design for happiness, social innovation, health and well-being, digital fabrication technologies, future visioning, disadvantaged communities (economically deprived, educationally deprived, geographically remote, etc).
This is an open call for projects in this field, for UK/EU/International candidates who are sponsored or who have their own funding.
Find out more:
http://www.lboro.ac.uk/departments/design-school/
Entry requirements:
Applicants should have, or expect to achieve, at least a 2:1 Honours degree (or equivalent) in Design or a related subject. A relevant Master’s degree and/or experience in one or more of the following will be an advantage:
Industrial/Product/Service/Systems/Sustainable Design; Social Innovation; SDGs projects and/or academic research; interest in design for happiness and well-being agenda.
Contact details:
Name: Dr Carolina Escobar-Tello
Email address: [Email Address Removed]
Telephone number: +44 01509222648
How to apply:
All applications should be made online at http://www.lboro.ac.uk/study/apply/research/. Under programme name, Loughborough Design School
Please quote reference number: LDS/CE-T/2017
Application details:
Reference number: LDS/CE-T/2017
Preferred Start date (if any): October 2017;
Supervisors:
Primary supervisor: Dr Carolina Escobar-Tello
Secondary supervisor: Dr Thomas Jun
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