Living on the Edge… of Design Research - Professor Andrew Walters

For the last decade or more, researchers have been increasingly asked to demonstrate the impact of their work, while research funding has increasingly been aligned to ‘challenges’ rather than disciplines.

As a researcher, this shift asks us to consider the needs and values of multiple stakeholders in order to create positive real-world change. This means that scholars must carefully consider the requirements of their sponsors and beneficiaries beyond their own academic curiosity, and to put together research teams that can deliver on a brief.

Professorial Lecture

Living on the Edge… of Design Research - Professor Andrew Walters

Thursday 23rd March 2023

Drinks reception from 6pm for 6.30pm start

In-person event only (Please register to attend)

Register to attend this event

This lecture will explore why design might be particularly well suited to ‘problem centred’ research, drawing on examples from a career which has balanced research and innovation developments in both private and public sector collaborations.

Andy Walters is Professor of User Centred Design, Director of Research at PDR and Head of the Global Academy for Human Centred Design. Andy leads on the academic research strategy for the Centre and supervises a broad range of design research projects and doctoral students. His personal research focus is on the application of user-centred design, especially in terms of improving accessibility to user-led design and development principles. Andy is also a member of both the AHRC and EPSRC Peer Review Colleges.

Andy’s research outputs can be found here.