With Imaginations leadership of one of the AHRC Knowledge exchange hubs (ours is called the Creative Exchange) one of the advantages of being involved in this is the connections made with other institutions both within the hubs and beyond. A case in point was a recent invitation to lecture and give a workshop with the good folks at DJCAD (Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art & Design).
I had a delightful time with some of the staff and PhD students there recently exploring the concept of the Design of Knowledge Exchange. There was a rich and diverse set of PhD students involved in these events, ranging from students studying HCI, to Biomimicry to Rural Issues to Art in the community. The thing that really struck me how appropriate it is to think about the Design of KE with design researchers and practitioners who where still getting experienced in this area. Its quite easy for Knowledge Exchange to be regarded as something mysterious and difficult (especially if you talk to some business engagement people). The approach we take in Lancaster is that KE is a type of interaction design and the challenge is to design supports or scaffolding that supports the exchange of knowledge without attempting to prefigure it.
The students and staff at came up with some really interesting designs for KE and also helped lead a very interesting debate on both the fundamentals of KE but we also had a very fruitful discussion on the practicalities of running KE events like ‘jams’ workshops and sandpits. I am looking forward to going back to Dundee to see how things are going on, it feels like the place is buzzing.