The Research and Education Forum took place on 22 February 2022, the first day of the 32nd World Design Assembly hosted by WDO and the Economic Promotion Bureau of Shunde People’s Government of Foshan.
The forum brought together designers, academics, students and design professionals to further enhance the future of design research and education through a series of thematic presentations and discussions exacmining 'design for the unimagined' and its subthemes.
The first keynote of the day was presented by Karel Vredenburg 'Pseudo Design, Futures Design, & the Future of Design Education'.
Karel Vredenburg has led design in various roles worldwide at IBM for most of his three decades with the company, and is currently responsible for IBM's Global Design Leadership, Culture, External Engagement, and Academic Programs. He chairs the Design Executive Team comprised of top managerial design executives in each business unit and the Design Leadership Board comprised of the technical and managerial design executives responsible for the review and appointment of Design Principals and Distinguished Designers.
Karel is responsible for the design profession, designer skill development, and design culture for the 3,000 designers at IBM and for external engagement, academic programs, and the IBM Design social media presence externally. His focus inside and outside the company is on enterprise design excellence in Hybrid Cloud and AI as well as on all aspects of racial Equity in design.
Karel also serves as the head of IBM Studios Canada, is the IBM Innovation Corps executive for Canada, and is Industry Professor in the McMaster University DeGroote Schools of Business and Medicine. He also co-founded the Future of Design Education initiative with Don Norman, which aims to rethink design education for the 21st century.
