Welcome to International Design Factory Festival'20

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Welcome

A short welcome video from DFGN's lovely Päivi Oinonen.

Past public events

"Hunting down ideas to enable innovation in the 'unprecedented'": a keynote by Dr. Sean Gallagher
Hosted by Design Factory Melbourne
When: Tue, Oct 6, 3:00pm - 4:00pm (GMT+10)

Innovation is the only way for an organisation to respond to a rapidly-changing and dynamic environment. In a post-COVID world, an organisation’s survival depends on ideation more than ever. To generate new ideas, organisations need to hunt them down to discover them. 

How well placed are Australian workplaces to discover new ideas? What does current workplace culture tell us about innovation in Australia? Some new research looks into how organisations can thrive in the unprecedented.

In this keynote, Dr. Gallagher will unpack these questions and more.



"Learning in different contexts and conditions": a panel discussion
Hosted by Design Factory Melbourne
When: Tue, Oct 6, 4:00pm - 5:30pm (GMT+10)

We should be designating a considerable amount of time for learning to stay relevant in the transforming world of work. We could even claim that learning and working are merging in the future. Universities are striving to create authentic learning opportunities for students, and industry is required to focus on life-wide learning and professional development opportunities.

This panel discussion explores topics such as how might we create better conditions for learning, what are some of the skills we need for the future, how do we bridge the gap between theory and practice, how do we continuously learn throughout our careers and how to make learning stick?

Join to hear from the panellists with diverse backgrounds from industry and academia as they share their experiences with and approaches to learning.

The panellists include:

  • Amelia Iverson, Multidisciplinary Creative, DFM student advisory board member, workshop associate and alumni
  • Dr. John Hopkins, Swinburne University Innovation Fellow and Founder of WorkFLEX Australia
  • Caroline Sanz, Director, Strategic Design at Isobar
  • Ethan Lankshear, Mechanical Design Engineer at McCannics and an alumni from DFNZ and DFM

The panel discussion will be recorded.


"Growing small to global": a keynote by Dani McFerran
Hosted by Design Factory New Zealand
When: Wed, Oct 7, 5:00pm - 6:30pm (GMT+13)

If you're interested in learning how to take your business from local to global - and how to thrive in the new-post-COVID world - then this is for you.

IdeaSquared is hosted by Design Factory New Zealand and features Dani McFerran - founder of Belfast-based Done + Dusted Design. Dani has founded a global design agency, working with clients in New York, Singapore, Australia and Europe - while keeping her business authentic and nimble.

Dani will be Zooming in from an early Northern Ireland morning to share insights and tips from her journey - and to run a Q&A after her chat. 


DFGN Meet & Greet
Hosted by the DFGN
When: Wed, Oct 7, 1:00pm - 2:00pm (GMT+3) 

Are you interested in the design factory way of working? Do you wonder how it all came to be? Would you like to start a design factory in your institution, or just get a spark of energy and excitement by meeting like-minded people? Join us for a session of coffee chat with Aalto Design Factory founder and Janitor Kalevi "Eetu" Ekman and DFGN's Communications and Community Developer Marthe Dehli where the focus will be on answering your questions and sharing stories about design factory life.


"Building healthier interactions": a keynote event
Hosted by inno.space
When: Wed, Oct 7, 3:00pm - 5:00pm (GMT+2)

In our fast-paced world, we are faced with extraordinary technological advancements. As society, we are still trying to catch up with these improvements and understand the place they take in our everyday lives. Is it time to re-think how we approach the interactions between humans and technology and how we are building systems and services?
In this talk, we will hear incredible insights from two experienced speakers that are working hands-on in the fields of Positive Design and Healthcare. They will explain why and how we should think about creating meaningful interactions and products, give practical examples and share their personal experiences.

The panellists include:

  • Dr. Anna Pohlmeyer, Senior Experience Researcher at diffferent
  • Steffen Raetzer, co-founder at Medicas
  • Bijan Mokhtari, Manufacturing Manager at Surgify Medical, DF Alumni) 
  • Diana Portela, Medical doctor, PHD candidate in Health Data Science.
The hardships of digital learning: Sharing best practices
Hosted by St. John's University Design Factory
When: Wed, Oct 7, 3:00pm - 4:40pm (GMT-4)

The hardship of digital learning: digital engagement, digital fatigue and, yes …we desperately need to figure out new pedagogic paradigms and practices.

Join us for a round table and brainstorming event led by the design factories in the Americas. We share our creative recipes and out-of-the-box-thinking on digital learning, based on our own experiments and initiatives. 


Lunchtime learning: Avoiding the empathy trap
Hosted by Design Factory New Zealand
When: Thu, Oct 8, 2:00pm - 3:00pm (GMT+13)

Does empathy really lead to good design? Nicole Symington is a PhD researcher developing a design method. In this Lunchtime Learning, she shares a process based on a reflexive practice, to help you uncover where your empathy might either help or hinder your designs.

Nicole is a researcher at Design Factory Melbourne, and will provide a fun and fast-paced learning experience for all.

If you're interested in solving customer problems, and understanding their needs better - then you won't want to miss out on this Lunchtime Learning.


Speculative design: Why and how to think about alternative features
Hosted by inno.space
When: Thu, Oct 8, 6:00pm - 7:00pm (GMT+2)

Elahe Rajabiani from oper.space – University of Bologna, will share with us her findings on the topic of Speculative Design and Future Forecasting.

"In this talk we will explore the possibilities of a world to come using frameworks and tools of future thinking. We then see how Design can create tangible artefacts to use for debate to better understand the present and to discuss the kind of future people want, and, of course, ones people do not want. We will be archeologists of the future."


Art and design thinking: an expert interview with Luca Iandoli
Hosted by St. John's University Design Factory
When: Thu, Oct 8, 3:00pm - 4:00pm (GMT-4)

Kevin James interviews Luca Iandoli. By combining insights from art, design, and brain science, in this conversation our experts dig into how the pursuit of aesthetic pleasure leads to effective design decisions.

About us

Design Factory Global Network (DFGN) is a network of innovation hubs in universities and research organisations in five continents of the world. DFGN is on a mission to create change in the world of learning and research through passion-based culture and effective problem solving. Shared understanding and common ways of working enable Design Factories in the network to collaborate efficiently across cultures, time zones and organisational boundaries fostering radical innovations.