IMD Ethnography

Introduction

One of the most important resources feeding into the MSc in Design Ethnography is the academic research community from which it has grown. The College of Art Science and Engineering at Dundee University has an international research reputation in many of the key 'contributing disciplines' required to engage successfully with the challenges ahead for user research and design ethnography in the globalised, hi-tech industries of the future. Studying at Dundee you will encounter and in many cases be taught by top researchers in the fields of engineering, social research, product design, design management, computing and interaction design.

School of Computing

Welcome to the School of Computing at the University of Dundee. The School prides itself in its research led teaching and offers a broad selection of taught undergraduate and postgraduate programmes as well as a offering many opportunities for study for the research degree of Doctor of Philosophy.

The School works with many other disciplines to undertake cutting edge work across a broad spectrum of research areas, and has a particular strength in working with others to develop applications which genuinely meet the needs of users – this process often involves working with colleagues in the field of Design and we have a leading track record in venturing into novel methodologies for doing this. The School is pioneering the use of theatre as a means of exploring and capturing requirements for acceptable and usable technologies to support older people; we are also pioneering the use of design ethnography in fields such as life sciences research and health informatics to ensure that what we develop fits in with the needs and desires of users and models the way they work. We do this with a view to developing inspirational research which is both technically advanced and also ensures the long term productivity of the solutions offered through ease of use and pleasurable interaction.

The University of Dundee has invested heavily in the School in recent years, with the appointment of world leading researchers and a move to an inspirational, award winning new building which accurately reflects and encourages the collaborative, interdisciplinary ethos of the School. All this leads to an exciting environment where students and staff work together to move research forward and where students feel they are an active part of the team.

With a current annual research spend in the region of £1.5m, we have a long history of developing cutting edge research in Assistive and Healthcare Technologies; we also have established and growing research groups exploring Interactive Systems Design Computational Systems and, in  addition to the recently opened Space Technology Centre. We are attracting an increasing level of Research Council funding, as well as funding from the European Union, a wide range of charitable trusts and foundations and the Scottish Funding Council.

Our emerging research programmes have allowed us to considerably broaden our portfolio of work, helping us to attract new staff and increase student applications. There is an increasing emphasis across the University of Dundee on the importance of developing inter-disciplinary working and Computing, Engineering and the School of Design have collaborated successfully on two groundbreaking new undergraduate degree programmes, Interactive Media Design and Innovative Product Design. These very popular interdisciplinary programmes perfectly encapsulate the need for modern graduates to be able to work across a range of different disciplines.

We are also working hard to attract students through the creation of online learning communities and our student-centred teaching approach was rated “exemplary” in the most recent teaching quality assessment.

Computing at Dundee aims to be at the forefront of developing inter-disciplinary research and teaching and we are both excited and stimulated by the opportunities provided by the inspirational environment in the Queen Mother Building. 

Professor Peter Gregor

Dean, School of Computing

School of Computing Research Record

People - 20 Academics; 30 Research staff; 25 PhD Students

Research income of over £10m since 2001

Publications – over 150 journal papers and many more conference papers and book chapters

Excellence - 40 staff awards; 3 School awards; 4 patents; 6 international standards

Seminars – Weekly research seminars scheduled within the School Of Computing

Themes - Research emphasising innovation, recognition & latest developments 

Research Themes

The School of Computing has four main research groups: Assistive & Healthcare Technologies, Computational Research, Space Technology, and Interactive Systems Design. Each of these groups carries out research on a number of themes. These groups work to develop their research interests and work together to explore the exciting possibilities which bringing together their collective expertise gives rise to. Always looking outward, they seek opportunities for interdisciplinary work with colleagues in many other fields.

Interactive Systems design

Working across discipline boundaries, and with the real needs of real people at its core, the Interactive Systems Design Group is convinced that this approach leads to better research and better results for everyone. The interactive Systems Design group focuses on methodologies and systems which bring computing together with a range of other disciplines, both within the university and in the wider world.

Assistive Healthcare Technologies

Developing computer systems to support people in sickness and in health, the Assistive and Healthcare Technologies group matches real world needs with the latest techniques and developments. The Assistive and Healthcare Technologies group works to ensure that computers are used appropriately and effectively in assistive and healthcare developments. They identify the needs of patients, professionals, older people and people with specific needs and facilitate the development of engaging, empowering and usable computer systems.

Space Technology centre

Developing electronic systems and software for satellites and other space craft, the Space Technology Centre was opened by Lord Sainsbury in 2005 and brings together leading research teaching and enterprise in the field of electronic systems and software for spacecraft. It has had a major influence on the design of the communication systems onboard spacecraft developed by NASA, The European Space Agency (ESA) and the Japanese Space Agency (JAXA) and is a leading provider of planetary landing simulation software which is widely used in the space exploration field. The group also runs the satellite receiving station, providing satellite images for the UK research community.

Computational Systems

Focusing on the mathematical, formal and technical facets of computer science and artificial intelligence, the Computational Systems group works in graph theory, computer vision, image analysis, argumentation and multi-agent systems.

School of Design

Welcome to the world of design research at the University of Dundee. As we move through the 21st Century design is increasingly being seen as a process that can help in framing and solving issues and problems that confront society.  It can act as a mediator between new technology and human culture, as a navigator through complex issues, as an inspirational catalyst offering new ways of visualising and embodying ideas. New things need to be designed, new approaches to design need to be taken. Design research at the University of Dundee aims to develop new knowledge and understanding to support design’s new emergent position. This website describes this work. You will see most of our research activity is interdisciplinary and that the work is broad and varied, making use of a wide range of research methods. The work is driven by the energy and enthusiasm of the individuals and teams who work on the research projects. The cultural dynamic and organisational structures within which we work are designed to maximise support for these endeavours. All the time we are keen to see new knowledge and understanding being put to use, through our teaching, through design practice or other forms of commercialisation.

Research Themes:

At the University of Dundee we have a large community of researchers exploring design related issues. Over 20 MPhil and PhD students work closely with over 30 academic staff and four Professors. To maximise support for this work, research is clustered into a series of communities of activity. These communities overlap and are continuously evolving. They exist to allow regular informal discussions to take place between researchers sharing common interests. They serve to update and inform staff on methods, events and developments. Encourage collaboration and the development of new research projects. They also act as a focus for communicating research interests to internal and external audiences. Groupings currently cover the following areas of interest:

Strategic Design:

Exploring design’s role in supporting collaborative innovation.
Issues confronting businesses and society are increasingly complex and can only be resolved by taking an interdisciplinary approach. Strategic Design at Dundee is exploring how the methods and processes used within design and product development can be used to support collaborative problem solving in all organisations. This includes our co-ordination of the UK-wide AHRC-EPSRC Designing for the 21st Century initiative, research on design and counter-terrorism, and a range of other projects.

Healthcare Design:

Exploring the contribution design makes to healthcare provision.

Research in this area is exploring design’s role in creating new, more effective forms of healthcare provision. Recent projects include: collaborative research with the Department of Nursing & Midwifery
(University of Dundee) funded by NHS Estates exploring the interior design of UK Maternity units.

Natural Design:

Holistic approaches to design based on understanding of natural systems.

The Centre for Study of Natural Design regards design as an expanded activity beyond what currently constitutes the design domain.  Nature and culture are fundamentally interdependent and interconnected by complex social, cultural, economic, ecological, and psychological interactions, therefore humanity and nature will have to co-operate as symbiotic, co-evolving living systems.  Design can play a central role as transdisciplinary integrator and facilitator of more sustainable solutions.  Using design as an integrative process can help to prevent future social and environmental damage, increase health and quality of life, and contribute to the creation of a sustainable human civilization during the 21st century.

Knowledge Through Making

How do we understand and advance the knowledge of making? Craft knowledge in jewellery and textiles provides the foundation for research within this theme. Collaborative practices have enabled craft knowledge to intersect with other disciplines, resulting in hybrid practices and greater transparency in methods and outcomes. The establishment of the Past, Present and Future Craft Practice project (funded by the AHRC) provides a more focussed and rigorous framework for developing research in this field, and provides doctoral research students to support and work with the existing research community.

Narratives, discourses and representation:

Researchers in this grouping share an interest in the use of experimental, narrative and visual representations to explore structures of meaning, often through hybrid practices, and the discourses framing such practices.

Interaction Design

Technology enabled experiences design through dialogue, soundscapes and wearables, games, and information access tools for people from oral cultures).

Research in this area is undertaken in collaboration with the School of Computing and the School of Engineering & Physical Sciences at the University of Dundee. Interaction Design identifies and develops design methods, techniques, and tools that merge boundaries between "user and designer", "digital and analogue", and "product and software". Research is co-ordinated through the University of Dundee’s Interaction Design Lab (IDL).

The IDL integrates researchers from computing, engineering, art, and design to meet the design challenges of our increasingly hybrid world. These include applications of sound for users in mobile, extreme contexts, how theories and methods from visual perception sciences can be used within art and design, and issues of strategic design management and, specifically, how those issues can be communicated more effectively within and across organisations.