Present / Future
Currently under consideration are the following endeavours
- The creation
of joint PhD programs in Design that will link several Universities and Cultural
and Industrial partners.
- The creation of the first Portuguese Gallery entirely devoted to Design,
acting as a step
towards the installment of a permanent Design Collection pertaining to the
Regional aspects of
Design History and Culture. The work presented in this environment will be
directly linked with
Research and educational activities.
- The development of a digital archiving program for the preservation and
reframing of
analogue cultural artifacts.
- The development of digital interfaces for the management and wider visibility
of analogue
and digital heritages.
- The establishment of a Design consultancy unit for Industry.
The Northern region of Portugal is in urgent need of revilatising and re-thinking
its Industry
sector. Part of this process implies a deep restructuring of management rationales
so that
these can profit from strategic Design thought and process, from branding
to product design,
from communication strategies to sustainability and social responsibility.
- The establishment of an Artifact Development Unit, exploiting the nationally
and
internationally acclaimed work of ID+ Design professionals, so that individual
acclaim may
grow into a wider scope of acknowledgement through direct collaboration with
Portuguese
Industries and Institutions.
- The organisation of international symposia on the working strategies between
Design
Education and Research, and Industrial and Cultural partners. Both Universities
benefit from a
wide range of partnerships with international Research and Academic institutions
(Erasmus,
Leonardo, UTAustin-Portugal, European-funded projects), and it is our aim
to bring these
together for the prosecution of shared goals and structural models for Applied
Research.
- A strengthened participation in ongoing national and international projects
- namely the ones
mentioned under Achievements and Activities, as well as others currently
under evaluation:
Creative Places for European Active Citizenship, a joint project with European
Universities and
Enterprises, proposed to the 7th Framework Programme on Research and Technological
Development; Development Sustained by Design: case study Entre Douro e Vouga,
proposal
submitted to FCT.
Future Networking activities in the 2007-2010
The nature of the present Research Institute is already based on a philosophy
of participation and networking, as it is a result of the convergence of
Researchers from two Portuguese
Universities in common projects and facilities. ID+ will promote the inclusion
and participation
of other Design Schools and Research environments, aiming at a national working
web of
resources. Collaborations are already taking place with UNICOM/IADE and staff
at
Universidade de Lisboa.
ID+ will contribute to the formation of a wide consortium that will gather
Research units in
surrounding scientific areas (communication sciences, arts, law, engineering,
architecture),
sharing the goal of fostering Applied Research for direct social, cultural
and economic impact.
This consortium has been discussed at higher levels, and contacts with industrial
and cultural
partners are currently being established. In this context, what is hereby
proposed is the
simultaneous affirmation of the Design discipline and the recognition of
its multidisciplinary
nature and ability.
Within the proponent Universities of ID+, there are ongoing collaborations
and projects taking
place with:
INESC - Instituto de Engenharia de Sistemas e Computadores - Porto
CICECO - Centro de Investigação em Materiais Cerâmicos e Compósitos
- Aveiro
UPMedia - Porto
CETAC - Centro de Estudos das Tecnologias, Artes e Ciências da Comunicação
MAPA - National web of Art and Technology - Aveiro and Porto, in association
with
Universidade Católica do Porto.