ABOUT US
The social design research group was established in 2015 at the Department of Design, Media and Educational Science / SDU
The social design research group was established in 2015 at the Department of Design, Media and Educational Science / SDU
The group has a keen interest in how people can be involved in participatory design processes leading to social value for the individual and society at large. By social value, we refer to changes at a human scale that is felt to be beneficial for marginalised or vulnerable societal groups and communities.
The group has a keen interest in how people can be involved in participatory design processes leading to social value for the individual and society at large. By social value, we refer to changes at a human scale that is felt to be beneficial for marginalised or vulnerable societal groups and communities.
Design research practice is essential for our work
We use design methods to make sense of wicked problems, as a way of engaging and co-designing with people and as a process of making artefacts or services enabling people to cope with difficult situations in life.
Through a number of research projects we have documented our ability to evaluate social design outcomes by bridging disciplines from the human and social sciences.
RESEARCH AREAS
In our social design unit we are concerned with the urgent societal need for rethinking core services of the Scandinavian and European welfare states. In particular, our research projects lies within the following four areas:
NEWS
Mads Bärenholdt defended his PhD thesis on loneliness among young people
Mads Bärenholdt defended his PhD thesis on loneliness among young people On Friday, May 2, Mads Bärenholdt, defended his PhD thesis on loneliness among young people, entitled "Loneliness among youth: A design ethnographic study in a narrative framework". The opponents were: Professor Ottar Ness, Head of WellFare: Nordic Research Center for [...]
The Social Design Unit initiates collaborative research with ENS (Paris) on a joint topic concerning Sustainable Energy Futures
The Social Design Unit initiates collaborative research with ENS (Paris) on a joint topic concerning Sustainable Energy Futures Based on a 4-week research stay in France, the Social Design Unit has established closer collaboration with the Center for Design Research, École Normale Supérieure Paris-Saclay (abbreviated as ENS). The research stay [...]
CoDesign for Transitions Network meeting in London
CoDesign for Transitions Network meeting in London On Nov. 24-29 the Social Design Unit was fully engaged in a 1-week program in London as part of the Marie-Curie doctoral network CoDesign4Transitions, led by Lucy Kimbell, the University of the Arts London and Marzia Mortati, Politecnico di Milano. Being recently initiated, [...]
New PhD in Social Design Unit
New PhD in Social Design Unit Ilma Stankeviciute joined the Social Design Unit as a PhD student in September 2024. She is part of CoDesign4Transitions, a four-year doctoral network that connects eight universities across seven countries. The network focuses on original research at the intersection of co-design, democratic innovation, and [...]
Thomas Markussen
thma@sdu.dk +45 93507196
Eva Knutz
evak@sdu.dk+45 93507135
University of Southern Denmark
Department of Design, Media and Educational Science
Universitetsparken 1
6000 Kolding, Denmark
