Circular design - Learning for innovative design for sustainability

Abstract

The Circular-Design - Learning for Innovative Design for Sustainability (L4IDS) project is a three year (2016-2019) Erasmus + Knowledge Alliance financed project. The goal of the project is to promote sustainable consumption and production of products and services in Europe. This is achieved through a knowledge co-creation process and the development of training materials in order to teach and train students, faculty and enterprise staff of the design sector in Innovative Design for Sustainability (IDfS) strategies. The project is aligned with European Circular Economy policies and contributes to the realization of a more sustainable society. There is an abundance of learning schemes, courses, and teaching materials in higher education on DfS but few of these focuses on Knowledge Co-Creation and Innovation and none through continuous professional development. This paper will present an overview of previous initiatives around DfS in higher education, focusing on those that rise above the level of a single institution. By mapping these initiatives on the triangle Design for Sustainability (DfS)-Knowledge Co-Creation - Innovation, we will articulate the gap which the L4IDS project aims to bridge. For this, we will use an adapted version of the DfS Evolutionary framework. The mapping will be based on a case study publication on knowledge co-creation processes in design for sustainability. Specifically, the study will focus on the position of Digital Fabrication Labs (DFL) in this innovative design for sustainability triangle.