Soumitri's Major Project Resources

Session I: The WORKSHOP!
1. The first session of the Premajor will be on Wednesday the 1st of March, at 87.05.03.

2. This will be at 2 O'Clock. (Please be there on time.)

3. Soumitri will take you through the course expectations and methodology. He will then initiate a workshop to help you decide on your area of work.

4. At 4.30 PM the other supervisors/ staff will come in and be available for you to have discussions with.

5. The expectation is that in this first session you will be helped to move towards a project that you would be genuinely and strongly feel for.

Session II: With Supervisors
You will move on and start working with your supervisors. You will have a chance to refine and modify, or even change, your project before session II.

Methods Tool Kit:

1. Endnote
2. Report Writing
3. Proposal Writing
4. Planning the project: PERT Plan
5. Making the Schedule and getting approvals from the Supervisor

Events - Milestones

Project Evaluation
1. Outcomes
2. Checklist of Criteria (Qual/ Quant)

Can be explorations in the area of …
1. Design Education
2. Design History and Theory: Different Histories, Cultural Amplification, Networks/Rhizomes and Communities, and Sustainability.
3. Technology in Education

Ongoing Projects:1. Southern Cycle/ Mick
2. Blogs and podcasting / Liam
3. Gossard/ SC-Philip Harfield
4. Online Gallery - CD ROM
5. Design in Secondary Schools

The objective is to get exposure to the context of practice in these pathways. The students in this sense will have an experience similar to RAs or Post Docs and will therefore develop themselves in the specific sector of industry or research. This kind of work assumes the student has an interest in/ a career interest in a particular research area.
1. Participative Action Daria Loi
2. Cultural Transports Unit Mick Douglas ( on leave 1st sem 2006)
3. Zeitung Malte Wagenfeld
4. Tacit Knowledge Deanne Koelmeyer
5. Connected Futures Frank Feltham
6. Furniture Lab/ Milan Expo Kjell Grant
7. Body Lab Scott Mayson
8. Free Agents Denis Smitka
9. The Social Object Soumitri Varadarajan
10. Chinese Whispers Simon Curlis
11. Rhizomatics Liam Fennessy
12. Sustainability/ Ecosense Adjunct Prof: Chris Ryan (Soumitri Varadarajan)

Often students choose to do some exploratory work on their own – and are motivated by a desire to use their time in university for their reading and theoretical explorations. This is the most popular trajectory of students in most design courses ( and also Architecture and Interior in the school) and results in a unique form of theoretical exploration. Ban’s Masters – Imagining a bicycle friendly Melbourne – is a project quite similar to the stuff done by design students in their final year.

The Research objectives of this kind of work could be:
1. To advance the study of industrial design - to undertake research across a spectrum of design issues, from design processes and methods, to design problems concerning the Design theory, practice and innovation, Technology and design for the environment and Universal design and biomedical equipment design.
2. To conduct fundamental and applied research to enrich their scholarship and understanding of specific areas of interest within the fields of design.

Some popular and typical areas of exploration tend to be:
1. On Form and Styling
2. The Digital in Industrial Design
3. History: ID in Victoria/ Australia
4. Future of Industrial Design
5. Sustainability
6. Design in Context and Marginal Discourses: Such as exploring the local
7. Contemporary discourses: Technology, culture/ society, ..

METU (Middle East Technical University, Turkey) in their site give a whole list of abstracts (for PG work), which could translate into concerns. Also see GRC of our school for abstracts.

Some Sample Topics, to give you an idea of what these projects look like. Just plucked out randomly from design schools around the world:
1. Developing CAD modelling strategies for product designers
2. Culture-centered design approach for Design
3. Use of Social Research Methods in Design
4. Designing e-learning environments and on-line courses for adults: considering communication issues and differences in learning styles
5. An inclusive approach to design: optimising user-involvement in designing through computer-based models
6. Sustainable materials in consumer products

These are projects that are in the speculative stage, some are being developed for grants, and some have come through from Industry (Philips.

1. Philips/ TU Eindhoven (FF, Stephan)
2. Diabetes Project (SV)
3. Melbourne Green Map* (SC/ SV)
4. Recycling Construction Waste* (LF)
Also:
5. Working With China (SM/ Stephen Trathen - UC)
6. Zoo Project (DK)
7. Ageing (Melb Uni, CR)
8. CSL and Drugs (FF)
9. Schiavello and Interface (FF)
10. Craft and South Project (SV and Kevin Murray)

FF-Frank Feltham, SV-Soumitri Varadarajan, LF-Liam Fennessy,CR-Chris Ryan, SM-Scott Mayson
* Refers to the Sustainable Pathway

Four kinds of domains for the construction of project topics have been visualized.

Outreach Projects: These Projects have an industry link/ client or specific stakeholder group. Often these are applications orientated. These would be done in the project mode.

Propositions: Theoretical explorations that the student wishes to pursue; could be theory of design, history, or other exploration. This would typically be Thesis/ Research orientated.

Pathways: Speculative projects can located within pathways, and typically could be the development of a new area within the pathway. Typically these projects are to be developed in consultation with the pathway coordinator. Could be either project or research mode.

Projects in the Department: These are projects located within the Industrial Design Program, and have relevance to the professional practice of design. Many of these problems deal with the technological issues (online learning), many with community issues (Multiculturalism) and many with alternative forms of design practice (Gossard). Typically the methodology is one of solving tough problems through stakeholder involvement. Typically Project mode – with an emphasis upon action research and PRA type work.

Supervisors confirmed in first round ‘06:

1. Scott Mayson
2. Denis Smitka
3. Frank Feltham
4. Liam Fennessy
5. Deanne Koelmeyer
6. Malte Wagenfeld
7. Soumitri Varadarajan

How will you decide? See post of that name.