Anne-Laure Fayard is organizing a workshop on multidisciplinary research at the Royal College of Art in London: Wednesday 13 January 2010, 3:30 – 7:00 pm, Design London, Stevens Building, Royal College of Art.

There is a lot of encouragement for multidisciplinary research, from policy makers and research funders, and it is generally seen as a ‘good thing’. Yet the reality is that this is often very difficult to execute. For instance, the definition and the evaluation of the outputs (e.g. prototypes, patents or papers) vary across the disciplines, and the results of multidisciplinary work might well be regarded as below the standard that each individual disciplines seeks to impose on its own work. Consequently, those engaging in multidisciplinary work lose rather than gain credibility in their own ‘home discipline’. To look at these issues, we are holding a workshop that seeks to examine the barriers, challenges and rewards to multidisciplinary work.

Speakers
Simon Blyth, IDEO and Julien McHardy, Lancaster University
Peter Childs, Professor of Engineering Design, Imperial College,
Bill Gaver, Professor of Design, Goldsmiths College,
Lucy Kimbell, Clark Fellow in Design Leadership, Said Business School, Oxford,
Bruce Tether, Professor of Design and Innovation, Design London, Imperial College
Anthony Dunne, Professor and Head of Department, Design Interactions, Royal College of Art

Discussant
Jeremy Ainsley, Professor of History of Design, Royal College of Art

Organizers
AnneLaure Fayard, Visiting Scholar, Design London, Imperial College and Assistant Professor of Management, Polytechnic Institute of New York University
Bruce Tether, Professor of Design and Innovation, Design London, Imperial College

Why blogging this? I have been engaged in multidisciplinary research for a long time, and I find it crucial to find protocols of interaction between parties. Besides, Al’s work is really inspiring! I am also showing two of my pictures in relation to neo-nomadism and home making. How much space does home take?