Perceive the new familiar.
Whether we are working in a corporate business, drafting policies for the local municipality, a researcher or student at UT, or (almost) retired; we all deal with certain societal challenges. We ARE society, and science is part of it. Responsible Futuring offers an approach, our compass, that will guide us through science and society, while using methods that help us to work transdisciplinary. We welcome different perspectives, values. And, as a result, we might perceive different paths. But we can use our imagination to explore multiple futures. There is no start or finish, yet we are moving in this journey together. LET’S JOIN FORCES. Start here, and explore other challenges that might seem new to you, but other world citizens (whatever role that may be) are already tackling, by co-shaping futures.
Overview projects
Monuments for Future M/Otherhood
Project / speculative design
Lisa Mandemaker is a speculative designer with a strategic, contextually aware and critical approach to research and design. She considers design as a tool for debate in the public domain. In collaboration with scientists, ethicists and researchers, she crafts future narratives through designed prototypes. By translating theoretical (academic) research into physical artifacts, Lisa brings possible futures back to the present. They serve as an invitation for a general public to reflect on future uncertainty and to make present day choices for a desirable future for everyone.
As DesignLab’s designer-in-residence, Lisa collaborates with philosophers of the Gravitation programme, human-tech relation researchers and Responsible Futuring experts to inspire a broad public discussion about the ethical implications of the Artificial Womb (AW).
What do you see?
It’s the year 2088. Babies are now fully gestated in AW’s. On their 18th birthday, people who were born from an AW get a chance to visit a monument that displays a part of the machine in which they were gestated. The visit to the monument marks an important life-event, because several people have reported strong connections, memories, or even feelings towards these machines. The monuments make it possible to witness and re-connect to the machine ‘that gave you life’. The aim for this first tangible storytelling experiment is to spark new ideas about future families, new kinship and the feeling of being part of something bigger than yourself.
Project team
University of Twente: Lisa Mandemaker (designer-in-residence DesignLab), Margoth González Woge (philosophy), Julia Hermann (philosophy), Naomi Jacobs (philosophy), Sabine Wildevuur (director DesignLab) and Cristina Zaga (human-centered design).
Lily Frank (Eindhoven University of Technology), Llona Iness (biology & philosophy), Patricia de Vries (Gerrit Rietveld Academie).
More information
utwente.nl/designer-in-residence
Neura Automata
Engage with stakeholders’ views, coming from various disciplines.
Edo de Wolf, project lead: 'We wanted to find out about the new plans for building TechMed Centre, and the inspiration for its design language. For this we spoke to lead architect of the building Jef van den Putte and his colleagues. At the same time, we also wanted to understand what TechMed Centre meant for the university, both as a vision and the activities that would take place under it. We had discussions with assignment owner Remke Burrie (Managing Director TechMed), TechMed Centre’s Management Team, students from SIPA (work group study associations Sirius and Paradoks) and staff and researchers within the TechMed umbrella, to gain an understanding of what the new building means to them and the type of research and activities that would take place at the new venue.'
What do you see?
The artwork, unveiled by his Majesty King Willem-Alexander in 2019, is a reflection of past, ongoing and new connections across different fields to innovate in the healthcare domain. Things are always developing, new connections made, and there is a growth that comes out of it. The artwork itself is also changing constantly. It is able to decide for itself how to light up its surface. In this way it lives alongside TechMed inhabitants. The sneak peek at DesignLab, is called Neura Prõtotypos. You are welcome to visit TechMed Centre -next to the Gallery- to experience Neura Automata in real life.
DreamTeam & CO:
Lyubomir Andreev, Diana Becea, Tom Bernhards, Patrick Bos, Andrei Botnariuc, Siddharth Chaturvedi, Twan Defesche, Edwin Dertien, Emiel Harmsen, Jasper-Sebastian Haesler, Annemiek Klamer, Jorik Ordelmans, Stefan Paun, Teun Schurink, Venilla Vilvanathan, Edo de Wolf, Wout Zweers.
More information
utwente.nl/neura-automata
Gin Zörge
Start talking about the future of healthcare, with citizens
In the Netherlands, the pressure on healthcare is increasing. In the future, we will not have sufficient people working in healthcare and an increasing number of people who need care. A further advice to policy makers is to make difficult choices. Citizenlab (of DesignLab) and DesignLab could play a key role in the citizen debate on the future of healthcare and prevention of disease. We aim to connect them to key regional players (Noabers).
What do you see?
In this video, you can see DesignLab Research Fellow Femke Nijboer and Project Leader Citizenlab Jeroen Ottink in the Open Air Theatre at UTwente, telling you a little bit more about the importancy of citizen science and their plans, within the context of healthcare.
Femke: ‘We want to see if we can evoke some emotions in a theatric workshop about difficult topics in healthcare, that will be in the language Low Saxon (Nedersaksisch/Twents/Sallands/plat). To bridge the gap between science and society in the region, it might help to speak the language of Noabers. English and talking academically could cause language barriers and we really want them to speak their minds.’
Project team
Femke Nijboer, Jeroen Ottink, Senior Maker Movement.
Future Frictions
Putting different perspectives in context, to gain knowledge and develop a shared transdisciplinary frame
Have you ever thought about how smart city technologies impact our cities and our lives? And how do other people perceive these impacts? Technology influences our lives in different ways, and responsible smart city development requires discussing and reflecting on these potential impacts.
Future Frictions is a scenario-based digital experience to reflect on urban futures, and discuss what matters to us (and others) while envisioning and implementing smart cities. Future Frictions provokes and speculates to stimulate ethical reflection and dialogue around smart city futures, to develop a shared frame and co-shape the smart city futures we want to live in. You can experience Future Frictions individually or in a group, as a creative form of engagement.
Experience Future Frictions yourself!
future-frictions.apps.utwente.nl
Project team
University of Twente: Julieta Matos-Castaño, Anouk Geenen, Mascha van der Voort, Peter-Paul Verbeek.
Corelia Baibarac-Duignan (University of Twente/Utrecht University), Creative Coding Utrecht, Katpatat, Michiel de Lange (Utrecht University), Design Innovation Group & NWO project partners.
More information
responsiblecities.nl
Design your Life Community
Growing into adulthood by creating your own personalised solutions
The underlying idea of Design Your Life, is that the user leads the process towards defining personal needs, and so this person must also be the designer of their own ‘interventions’. In accordance, the toolkit helps users to go through a creative ‘do it yourself’ process step by step.
One part of the project involves developing an online community where autistic young adults can inspire and help each other and share their knowledge and self-designed life-hacks. In the long term, the goal is that this creative community helps autistic people to develop more grip and control over their daily lives, which in turn contributes to general well-being and successful participation in society.
What do you see?
One of the activities in the toolkit is generating ideas for things that might support you in daily life.
The toolkit offers materials for generating ideas and for making your ideas tangible in the form of quick prototypes. Giving a physical form to your ideas is an important step for evaluating and reflecting on your process together with your sparring partner. On the basis of the insights you generate together you can further develop your ideas into a real solution. For each activity, there’s a manual that describes the goal, what needs to be prepared and how long it could take.
Project team:
University of Twente: Jelle van Dijk, Niels van Huizen, Thijs Waardenburg (PhD student HAN University of Applied Sciences/University of Twente).
Maurice Magnée (HAN University of Applied Sciences), Koen Dortmans (HAN University of Applied Sciences).
More information
dyl.utwente.nl
Urban Digital Infrastructures
The societal impact of uneven distribution of privilege in cities
Developments during COVID-19 have made social inequalities in cities even more visible. For instance: Why do some neighbourhoods in cities have access to better quality internet than others? Processes that produce what we call privilegisation are still not sufficiently understood. Such processes may well be the result of an unrecognised incorporation of values that favour some urban residents over others.
Better understanding processes of privilegisation requires engagement with those designing, developing, and debating urban digital infrastructures and ideally those impacted by those technologies. Therefore, the plan is to organise a multi-day workshop with relevant players in the field of developing and debating emergent urban digital infrastructures.
What do you see?
In this video, Fran explains what she and her colleagues focus on within research department PGM of faculty ITC (Geo-Information Science and Earth Observation) and illustrates the meaning of urban digital infrastructure as well as the necessity to further explore privilegisation within research.
Project by
DesignLab Research Fellow Fran Meissner.
More information
itc.nl/pgm
Senior Maker Movement
Senior citizens in the twente region come up with solutions to their own challenges and use maker spaces to realise it.
How can the growing group of senior citizens live independently for as long as possible? What do they need for this? University of Twente, ActiZ, the branch association of care organisations and ANBO, the older people’s association, have taken the initiative to make practical solutions possible for the elderly themselves. In 2021, with the support of the DreamTeam, elderly came up with solutions while getting acquainted with design thinking methods and different forms of technology.
The Senior Maker Movement is up to speed, together with development centre TETEM and Provincial Support Institution Rijnbrink, who offers a menu with activities for local citizens, with similar ‘maker space’ events for the elderly, embedded in the programme.
What do you see?
Grabbing an item from the (kitchen) cupboard seems to be a normal activity for most people. Unfortunately, that’s not the case for Henk’s wife. His prototype made of wood enables her to pick up items like boxes, by holding a stick and move the tool towards her. Herman built upon that challenge and wondered: ‘Can I find a way to make shelves come to me when I need the items?’ And so, the second solution, made of cardboard, became reality.
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In the example below you see people sketching out their ideas, using digital software. They received support from David, Bachelor’s student Industrial Design Engineering at University of Twente.
Network
University of Twente: Kris Pals-Krukkert, DesignLab’s DreamTeam, Centre for Digital Inclusion, Femke Nijboer, CitizenLab.
Bibliotheeknetwerk Overijssel, Province of Overijssel, ActiZ (and partners), TETEM, Provincial Support Institution Rijnbrink.
More information
utwente.nl/senior-maker-movement
Transdisciplinary Master's insert
Shaping Responsible Futures
Transdisciplinarity is a term to define practices in which people work without firm barriers among disciplines to tackle societal challenges. Scientists and societal actors work together beyond the academic scope to generate impact. We believe that scientists and stakeholders alike should become agents of change, hence empowering each other in the process.
UT students who follow the Master’s Insert increase their knowledge and skills in the field of transdisciplinary work in a diverse group of students from different programmes. In the space of six months, various themes are explored, such as transdisciplinary ways of working, high-level critical & conceptual thinking, participatory & creative problem solving and future scenario building.
Recognition for educational innovation
The jury found it powerful that students are challenged within the environment of DesignLab and was impressed by the transdisciplinary aspect of the Master’s Insert. The involvement of students with different backgrounds such as philosophy or technical studies gives the students a completely different view of the assignments given by the stakeholders.
Mascha van der Voort, scientific co-director, DesignLab and founder Master’s Insert:
‘The impact of the learning community that has grown up around the Master-Insert will hopefully only increase with this recognition.’
The team
Founder: Mascha van der Voort. Coordinators: Klaas-Jan Visscher, Deger Ozkaramanli.
Other module coordinators: Robert-Jan den Haan, Jelle van Dijk, Cristina Zaga, Andreas Weber,
Desirée van Dun, Raymond Loohuis, Wouter Keijser, Brendan Sullivan, Kostas Nizamis, Wouter Eggink.
More information
utwente.nl/go/tmi
Scenario Exploration System
How can citizens become better engaged in future policy making?
One of the most pressing issues that European regions face is how to introduce and develop regional policies that promote sustainable development and achieve societal inclusion and citizen participation, under a framework of democratic governance. When facing societal challenges such as regional innovation we must establish a fruitful and productive conversation enabling all relevant regional stakeholders to engage - we should foster a multistakeholder dialogue.
The EU made Scenario Exploration System (SES-tool) allows various stakeholders in a safe environment to explore scenarios for the future while taking perspectives and understanding each others needs and interests.
What do you see?
A multidisciplinary team of students have designed, localised and piloted SES in four EU regions with real regional stakeholders. After several online tests and pilots that can be explored in Mural, the SES experience was also been carried our as a physical experience. In Overijssel, Galicia and Vestland, the students moderated four tables with professionals and citizens who explored across multiple time lines two scenarios for their respective regions. The evaluations were rewarding and the participants were rather positive on their experiences. The need for additional functions to the tool were clear and future applications are now being investigated.
Project team
Nefeli Kousi, Betina Markova, Xian Bodelón Ruibal, Alexandru Amariei, Henrietta Lukács, Twan Wildeboer, Amy de Lange, Cristina Zaga, Maya van den Berg.
More information
utwente.nl/ses
Digital Transformation
More information soon.
In the meantime, visit Quy in 2030, explaining who you see in the dome, and what they are doing.
Your perspective
The project owners would love to hear your vision on the societal challenges that they are working on. To get in a reflective mindset, they have a question for you. Would you like to share your answer with the project owner? Send an email to curator Jamila Blokzijl.