Workshop 2: Sustainability and design
Workshop 3: Exploring opportunities and challenges of using LLMs and AI in design
Workshop 4: Designing design research: Lessons from design researchers
Workshop 1: Interdisciplinary design education through campus-wide student projects: Its value and models for operationalization
Chairs: Rob Gorbet, Vanessa Schweizer (University of Waterloo)
The goals of this workshop are for attendees to
- Become more aware of the potential for design process/structure/thinking (“design”) as a style of problem-solving applicable across disciplines.
- Discuss some of the barriers that exist in the application of design in interdisciplinary contexts, both within and outside formal coursework.
- Discuss best practices and develop ideas for how interdisciplinary design might be implemented in their own contexts.
The workshop panel will share several case studies of students working across disciplines, applying design process as a problem-solving approach. Case studies come from different institutions and from both co-curricular and curricular contexts.
Featured presenters:
- Danielle Robinson, Franz Newland, Andrea Kalmin, Robin Metcalfe, York University. "Cross-campus capstone course"
- Michael Wood, Derek Rayside, Rob Gorbet, University of Waterloo. "i-Capstone"
- Paul Heidebrecht, Vanessa Schweizer, University of Waterloo. "Map the System"
- Jennifer Davis, Ted Nolan, Ben Kinsella, University of Toronto. "Solutions for integrating architecture and engineering design processes in a first-year design studio"
Workshop 2: Sustainability and design
Chairs: Reem Roufail, Christine Moresoli (University of Waterloo)
The goals of this workshop are for attendees to:
- Learn about existing approaches to incorporating principles of sustainability in design projects
- Discuss best practices and develop ideas for how principles of sustainability can be more deeply embedded in existing design teaching and learning activities across a variety of engineering disciplines
The workshop will start with case studies presented by various institutions followed by small group discussions.
Featured presenters:
- Reem Roufail, Christine Moresoli, University of Waterloo. "Integrating sustainability assessments in design projects"
- Alessia Romani and Joshua Pearce, Western University. "Open Design and 3D printing as drivers for new product applications in circular economy contexts: the case of Distributed Recycling for Additive Manufacturing on large scale"
- Grant McSorley, et al., UPEI. "Reverse Adaptation for Sustainability: Harnessing the power of reverse adaptation in engineering design to advance towards a sustainable future"
- Jonathan Verrett, UBC. "Cultivating Sustainability in Capstone Design Courses: Collaborating Across Departments and the University”
- Negin Ficzkowski, John R. Donald, Richard G. Zytner. "Integrating Regenerative Design into Engineering Education: Enhancing the Impact of Sustainable Innovation"
- Francis Wang, University of Calgary. "Foresight-Driven Innovation (FDI) for Creating a Sustainable World"
Workshop 3: Exploring opportunities and challenges of using LLMs and AI in design
Chair: Elisa Kwon (University of Toronto/UC, Berkeley)
The rise of artificial intelligence (AI) systems, including large language models (LLMs), is rapidly transforming how traditional engineering design tasks are approached and taught. In this workshop, we will explore how these systems can support engineering designers across a variety of activities and contexts. Different perspectives on the role of AI systems in engineering design will be reflected, including as collaborative co-design agents, as automated tools, and more broadly as a technology impacting design education, engineering practice, and society at large. Three core sessions will comprise this workshop, beginning with speakers who will present examples of and guide discussion on the integration of AI into tools and systems across the design process. In small groups, workshop participants will then brainstorm and present further opportunities to leverage LLMs and AI in design within specific contexts (e.g., design research, tool development, education, and practice). In the third and final session, participants will reflect on how AI is transforming the knowledge and skills engineers will require in the future and collectively work to identify tangible research and education goals to address these changing demands.
Featured presenters:
- Ross Brisco, University of Strathclyde. "The Value of Engineering Design in the AI Era"
- Marjan Naghshbandi, Sharon Ferguson, Alison Olechowski, University of Toronto. "A Recommendation System that Links Uncertainty Types and Design Activities for Optimal Uncertainty Responses During Engineering Design"
- Esdras Paravizo, Mariya Turetska, Mitchell Perera, Ada Hurst, University of Cambridge, University of Waterloo. “How can LLM-powered approaches help the creation of design space representations?”
- Elisa Kwon, University of Toronto/University of California, Berkeley. “Collaborating with AI: Methods and insights from studies on human-AI collaboration in design”
- Ahmed Shahriar Sakib, University of Waterloo. “GenAI for automating protocol analysis in design research: classifying questions in design review meetings”
Workshop 4: Designing Design Research: Lessons from design researchers
Chairs: Meagan Flus and Sharon Ferguson (University of Toronto)
Design research is a relatively young field, with the first workshop on design methodology occurring as recently as 1962. Historically, the field has evolved through three phases: initially, researchers shared personal design experiences; then, they developed theories and frameworks; and today, we are conducting empirical research. However, design researchers typically do not receive explicit formal training on conducting empirical design research, even in graduate programs. Instead, researchers draw on expertise from other disciplines. This workshop aims to contribute to the development of best practices in design research by fostering discussions on study context, topics, and methods. Participants will engage in presentations on diverse design research studies and will be encouraged to design their own studies. The workshop will target scholars at various stages of their careers, supporting graduate research, design educators, and design researchers, growing the field of design research with new methods and study contexts.
Workshop Goals:
- Develop a deeper understanding of best practices for conducting design research.
- Discuss the research contexts, topics, and methods of existing design research studies.
- Design a study for conducting their own design research.
- Network with design researchers in similar/new contexts to form new collaborative partnerships for future design research.
Featured presenters:
- Genevieve Beirne, Liz DaMaren, and Alison Olechowski, University of Toronto
- Meagan Flus, University of Toronto
- Sharon Ferguson, University of Toronto/University of Waterloo
- Hebron Gebre-Mariam, Waterloo Region District School Board
- Chris Rennick, University of Waterloo
- Julie Johnson, University of Waterloo
- Jackie Heitzner, Kenneth N McKay, and Ada Hurst, University of Waterloo
Workshop 5: Advancing design using pedagogical frameworks in co/extra curricular and curricular settings
Chairs: Alon Eisenstein (UBC, Okanagan), Nadine Ibrahim (University of Waterloo), Patricia Sheridan (University of Toronto), Jonathan Verrett (UBC, Vancouver)
Featured presenters:
- Alon Eisenstein & Ken Chau, University of British Columbia, Okanagan Campus. "Focusing on using a Work-Integrated Learning (WIL) framework in capstone design"
- Nadine Ibrahim, University of Waterloo. "Focusing on Engineer-In-Residence (EIR) programs and their impact on capstone design"
- Patricia Sheridan, et al., University of Toronto. "Focusing on pedagogical frameworks presented in the Clarke Prize which is a two-day design challenge (hackathon)"
- Jonathan Verrett, University of British Columbia, Vancouver Campus. "Focusing on using the High-Impact Practices (HIPs) framework to guide engineering student design teams"