International design workshops as a regular monthly component of the design education programme. The aim is to engage lecturers and communication design experts from around the world to work and exchange intellectually and creatively with students and institutions working with the university. Students from Poland, Ukraine, Belarus, Russia learn together and use different methods of design problem-solving. The EU values diffuse directly by working together.
Local
Poland
{Empty}
It addresses urban-rural linkages
It refers to other types of transformations (soft investment)
No
No
Yes
As a representative of an organisation
Name of the organisation(s): Polsko-Japońska Akademia Technik Komputerowych w Warszawie Type of organisation: University or another research institution First name of representative: Jerzy Paweł Last name of representative: Nowacki Gender: Male Nationality: Poland Function: Rector Address (country of permanent residence for individuals or address of the organisation)<br/>Street and number: ul. Koszykowa 86 Town: Warszawa Postal code: 02-008 Country: Poland Direct Tel:+48 502 266 473 E-mail:elipinska@pjwstk.edu.pl Website:https://pja.edu.pl
An international social design workshop program was created 2015. The program enables teachers and students to be involved in important social issues. We are co-operating with Erasmus partners and as well as local authorities and cultural institutions in Poland and Europe. By co-creating thematic blocks with partners, we are inviting speakers and experts to discuss current societal issues. Together we emphasize the role of visual communication in communicating these issues. The following topics have been dealt with: Refugees crisis in Europe 2015-2016. Democracy and civic engagement 2017. Independence, 2018 titled: 100 x Independence. Changing roles in work, 2019: "Who is working?". Against fast fashion and over consumption, 2019: "Fashion is my ism". "IF - design for sustainable cities" 2020. Fake news & disinformation, 2021: "Truth hurts - lies kill". Biodiversity & climate change, 2022: "Belonging to nature". Each of these workshops consist of lectures, readings, a publication and an exhibition.
social responsibility
design thinking
citizen-designers
inclusion
social activism
Political and societal situation has been radicalized in recent years in Poland as well as in many other European countries. Social design workshops are a way to question and confront stereotypes and reality. The greatest value is to meet and learn about each other's values – through discussion and mutual understanding. Direct contact and dialogue influence attitudes - openness and cooperation in solving problems affecting humanity. By running this programme we create a space for dialogue. We spread care and nurture contact building. We teach negotiation, understanding and the joy and pride of working together. Thanks to this program, we can teach and talk about European values directly with teachers and experts. We use both forms in person and online – since the pandemic lockdown program is blended.
International workshop activities consist of lectures, followed by group discussions and design processes individually or in teams and finally, presentations of project prototypes in the form of public presentations or exhibitions. We also organize conferences, discussions and exhibitions outside the university walls, open to the public. During the pandemic, we also organized them online. Through artistic activities such as illustrations of articles on the topic, animations, poster design, mobile apps and multimedia activities, we draw the attention of the environment and stimulate discussion. We also often show that, depending on the environment, we use different visual means to illustrate the same statements. We also often show that, depending on the environment, we use different visual means to illustrate the same statements. By presenting different outcomes of visual language and meanings it is very valuable in educating people to understand and respect for local traditions. On the other hand, the opportunity to exhibit in the Poster Museum, City Gallery, publish in the national magazine, or even New York Times encourages young creative people and brings them social respect.
We are living in very difficult times of environmental crisis, pandemics, war in Ukraine. The young people we educate are struggling with depression, anxiety and hatred from one to the other. They are often lost, shattered by reality. They often feel thrown to the margins of society - they do not know where they belong. Young people - citizens of Russia and Belarus - do not share the views of the governments of the countries whose passports they hold, yet they are exposed to blame and ostracism because of government decisions. Being a gay Belarusian who flees from an oppressive country to a slightly less oppressive country, where Ukrainian colleagues do not want to talk to him because he is Belarusian, is difficult. We work with difficult relationships, we build creative teams with people who have been implemented to obey, not to think critically. We work with people who have been trained to hate each other, not to dialogue, so building a joint performance with them, for example, or assigning work in one team is a huge challenge for us, an international group of educators. We are supported by municipal organisations and cultural institutions by sending invited experts. Human rights and environmental NGOs. We are supported by the association of cultural representatives of European countries in Warsaw, EUNIC. Representatives from these institutions participate in all the events we initiate, or jointly - this helps us to cover the costs of inviting experts, publications and exhibitions.
Students educated and raised in this programme regularly come into contact with civic institutions and organisations in the city. They learn to talk to local government representatives, become familiar with the structure of offices and understand with whom they can talk about civic design activities. Enjoying the presence and participation of local government representatives and NGOs in projects, they become partners. Step by step, they learn to work in complex interdisciplinary teams, integrate with their audiences, learn to listen to their needs and discuss the value of proposed solutions. Mutual respect, respect for the timely completion of assigned parts of tasks, shared responsibility for projects undertaken - will be invaluable in the future in working for the social good. Thanks to this programme and the involvement of teachers from outstanding academic centres, students feel important and understand that Europe takes responsibility for their education. They appreciate the effort and work put in by the teachers working in the workshops - they try not to let them down.
Building trust and educating towards cooperation is not an easy task, and this is what we try to teach. We point out that equality is based on respect for others and working together for the good of all communities.
We work primarily with the City of Warsaw. In addition, the association of cultural representatives of European countries EUNIC Warsaw, the Museum of Warsaw, the Asia-Pacific Museum, the National Museum Branch of the Wilanów Poster Museum, the Prom Kultura City Gallery, organisations such as Green-Peace or the Batory Foundation, the Ocalenie Foundation, the Library of the City of Warsaw, and often embassies of European countries are involved in many projects. We have published student work in Gazeta Wyborcza, Pismo, Gazeta Prawna and also in the online magazine New York Times.
International activities such as Refugees, Alien, Women Rights are Human Rights, Independence, IF involved universities from all continents of the world. Works were shown in galleries, on project websites and in book publications such as: "Refugees" PJATK, 2015; "Women Rights are Human Rights" PJATK 2017; "100xIndependence", PJATK, 2018; "If - suistanable design" PJATK, 2021. These books were distributed free of charge to the schools participating in the projects and by the EUNIC cultural delegations.
Representatives from different disciplines work together during the workshops. We invite representatives of local government, lawyers, economists, social activists, artists, designers, philosophers, politicians, representatives of affected communities to give lectures and they give short 30-minute presentations and then debate with students. This gives a theoretical underpinning and shows that the same problem can be looked at from different perspectives. It teaches that design activities take place in a complex social structure and always have multidimensional effects.
Students then work with design university lecturers and here they learn both critical problem analysis, design thinking and solution-finding methods and the basics of contemporary communication technologies. They gain knowledge of IT tools for producing multimedia messages, but are also taught vernacular, traditional techniques. We invite lecturers who present and pass on the secrets of the classical graphic design workshop of Japan or the design crafts of India. While learning about these specific techniques, students also learn about the regions and people who use them.
We believe that the innovative value of this programme is to hold such international classes on a regular monthly basis. The timetable is designed to allow for 30-hour workshop blocks. We believe that it is possible to implement it in other universities as well. It is of great value for us to meet representatives of different cultures and different social strata of the world in joint action and dialogue. An additional valuable effect of this system is the regular exchange of methodological and research experience between the lecturers. Each workshop cycle ends with a joint presentation, which consists of a short presentation of the topic, the working method and the results of the workshop. In this way, we learn and inspire each other a great deal. This system supports development and cooperation. It fosters dialogue and equal opportunities. It gives a sense of belonging. Travelling teachers share their knowledge but also learn about the community they are working with and return to their regular workplaces with this new knowledge.
This programme could be implemented in universities that want to bring communities together and build cross-cultural links. The working system of 5 days a week for 6 hours each is intensive but enjoyable and effective. It provides the opportunity to focus on the task at hand. Any university working under the Erasmus programme, like us, has the chance to take full advantage of the benefits of the mobility offered by the programme and adapt it to its needs in the form of a regular international educational grid.
As a result, a group of committed educators would have the opportunity to create a mobile education programme, giving smaller academic centres the chance to truly partner, participate in global academic life and learn from the best. Sharing knowledge, not competition, should be our common aspiration.
When designing the international workshop programme, we assumed that it would be easier and more ecologically responsible for us to host lecturers for 5 days per month than to organise frequent travel. Hence, the semester has been divided into 10 weeks of regular classes and 4 weeks that we set aside for workshops and 1 week for project-related consultations. The topics of the workshops are varied and changeable, as do the visiting lecturers and experts, but the main blocks in which we teach are fixed: October and November is the Social Design Course, December is text-based communication, January is creativity, March is interaction design, April and May are cross-cultural design and June is open-air workshops and motion image design. Each year we have a different theme - a motto, such as the already mentioned IF - social design for sustainable cities or Fake news or this year Belonging. Within the main theme, 8-9 parallel workshop groups work each month. In the first two Social Design workshops, year 1 students always work on the basis of thematic publications, which they illustrate using classical and dynamic techniques; in addition, the students themselves choose which specific topic they want to pursue and under whose supervision. Topics are announced online. A booklet with workshop descriptions is attached to the announcement, and students register for the chosen workshop by filling in an application form. The workshop outcomes are presented on the last day in the form of slides and videos. At that time, all participants meet, and the presented projects are discussed by the whole faculty. The workshops are evaluated by the instructors - students receive 8 ECTS points for them at the end of the semester.
Between workshops, the lecturers have the opportunity to meet for lunch and dinner. They can also meet individually to discuss aspects of the workshop that are of interest to them. This is how we plan future projects. We learn from each other.
The most serious problem we are currently solving by building such a programme is disagreement. We see disagreement on a global scale - armed conflict, on a European scale - different approaches to equality, the rule of law and partnership, locally between communities and cultural groups - women's rights, LGBT, minorities, migrants and so on. Much is being said and written about this. All publications are valuable, but the greatest value, in our view, is in face-to-face meetings and interaction between people. Learning from each other, going beyond cultural stereotypes and the labels we give to others. We really collaborate, and we really enjoy the friendship and help of the best creative minds in the world. If we could develop this project like a circular economy, maybe circular creativity and research would also benefit the next generation.
We started the project with a small group of 16 students in 2013, and we are now running it for around 200 students. We would like to continue it in the following years by involving more European and non-European universities in this circulation of pedagogues. During the pandemic period, we introduced blended learning methods - online workshops, conferences and exhibitions. These have many advantages and one huge disadvantage - they eliminate face-to-face contact in a real environment, but despite this disadvantage, we want to keep them because they help us to contact people who are difficult to bring to school for a single lecture or discussion and make it easier to prepare a programme of work.
Based on the experience we have already gained, we are working on creating an international study dedicated to multimedia communication design. We see an opportunity in both the geographical location and the achievements that allow us to connect East and West. We can create a kind of cultural hub, thus encouraging conversation and negotiation to support the resolution of conflicts and social problems.
Subsequent workshop blocks in our programme addressing current issues have always included a component of shared responsibility for the planet. This theme has intensified a lot in recent years. In 2019, we worked on local solutions for the circular economy and the sensible treatment of fashion. In addition to projects using recycled materials, a map and an app were created to support local small entrepreneurs, repair clothes and shoes, and run small tailoring services. It included films and interviews with them, promoting such activities. In 2020-21, together with the city and EUNIC, we showcased environmentally friendly projects in the form of an exhibition in the city gallery Prom Kultury and on the websites. Due to the lockdown, we conducted all lectures and workshops online and made the resulting educational materials available at https://if.pja.edu.pl. The green future of the planet was one of the 3 leading themes; the others being diversity and inclusion - equally important in view of the reality we experience. In 2021, we worked on how to distinguish truth from falsehood and prevent lies that contradict science warning of ecological and further health and natural disasters. In 2022 we developed the theme of integration with nature, of our belonging to life on Earth regardless of gender, nationality and religion - Belonging is directed towards integration and co-responsibility for all that lives. When conducting workshops, we use local materials and blended learning methods; lecturers who do not teach but only give a lecture are invited to present online. We have few resources and manage them very sparingly.
