Second Training School: Platforms and Design for the Caring Economy

Our COST action announces the Training School ‘Platforms and Design for the Caring Economy’, that will take place in Aarhus, Denmark, between 12 and 16 August 2019, in the organisation of the Centre for Participatory IT (PIT) at the Aarhus University.
The aim of the training school is to present cases, technologies and design methods for the caring economy communities. We will focus on active participation, participatory design and platforms that help participants form their own communities. The Training School is open to early career researchers who have a background and interest in the design of interactive technology.
The training school will include keynotes and discussions on topics of participatory design, platform cooperatives, value sensitive design, and how these and related theoretical concepts can be put into practice. A trip field to a local co-housing/production project will also take place.
The training school will including preparatory reading and the participants will have to deliver a written summary at the end, for a course credit of 5 ECTS for those interested.
We invite early career researchers with a background in the design of interactive technology, possibly including prototyping skills, and basic knowledge of human-centred and/or participatory design principles, and an interest in the way in which platform economy systems are designed and used to support local communities, to apply to attend the training school. Spaces are, however, limited, and allocation will be considered in line with the selection process outlined below.
Aarhus University has a long tradition for research in participatory design, with strong roots in the Scandinavian tradition for Participatory Design (PD), which combines the areas of technology development and use with a broader interest in participative practices at the workplace and beyond. The current research is working to provide alternatives that are transparent and malleable by users together, in inclusive communities, where users are not just passive providers of data.
Aarhus University is the home of the Centre for Participatory IT (PIT, http://pit.au.dk/), which is hosting an annual summer symposium (SummerPIT). This will overlap with this training school and provide a way to connect participating early career researchers with a diverse and interesting community of researchers in the field.
Similarly, Aarhus University hosts the ERC project CIO (cs.au.dk/cio) which specifically addresses collaborative and malleable technologies. CIO will support the training school and results from CIO will be presented.
This proposed training school will make use of lectures, panels discussions and workshops with established academics, initially from invited speakers, and later in the week by joining with the SummerPIT 2019 event. The activities will provide conceptual understanding as well as constructive and generative means for working with communities in the caring economy.
Program
Monday, 12th
09.15 – 10.30Susanne Bødker, Peter Lyle: Introductions, Welcome and Artifact Ecologies.
10.30 – 11.00Coffee break
11.00 – 12.00Anne Marie Kanstrup: Participatory Design for and with Communities
12.00 – 13.00Lunch break
13.00 – 15.30Susanne Bødker, Peter Lyle: Workshop Artifact Ecology mapping (with coffee and cake at 14.45)
15.30 – 18.15Excursion to Co-Housing Project
18.15 – DIY Dinner downtown (at Aarhus Street Food)
Tuesday, 13th
09.00 – 10.00Colin Clark: DesigningSomething Else: Cooperative, Inclusive, and Creative Communities
10.00 – 10.30Coffee break
10.30 – 11.30Daisy Yoo: Platform Coops and Value Sensitive Design
11.30 – 12.30Lunch break
12.30 – 15.00Colin Clark and Daisy Yoo: Discussion and Reflections on Coops
15.00 – Coffee and Cake
Wednesday, 14th(following SummerPIT:
http://pit.au.dk/pit-talks-and-events/summerpit-2019/programme-wednesday/)
09:00-09:10Welcome and intro
09:10-10:10Alan Dix: "Sources of Bias and Explanation"
10:10-10:15Short break
10:15-11:15Motahhare Eslami: "Participating and Designing around Algorithmic Sociotechnical Systems"
11:15-11:30Coffee break
11:30-12:30Nolwenn Maudet: "Dead Angles of Personalization, Integrating Curation Algorithms in the Fabric of Design"
12:30-13:30Lunch
13:30-15:30Afternoon activities and reflections
Thursday, 15th(following SummerPIT: http://pit.au.dk/pit-talks-and-events/summerpit-2019/programme-thursday/)
09:00-09:15Introduction
09:15-10:15Alan Dix: "Validation and mechanism: exploring the limits of evaluation"
10:15-10:30Break
10:30-11:30Antti Salovaara: "Can possible futures be evaluated participatorily?"
11:30-12:30Open roundtable
12:30-13:30Lunch
13:30-15:00Afternoon workshop
15:00-17.30Training School Poster session
18:30- SummerPIT dinner
Friday, 16th(following SummerPIT: http://pit.au.dk/pit-talks-and-events/summerpit-2019/programme-friday/)
09:00-09:15Introduction
09:15-10:15Helen Pritchard: "Worlds not yet recognized"
10:15-11:15Will Odom: "Developing a theory & practice of slow technology through design"
11:15-11:30Break
11:30-12:30Joana Moll: "Data mercenaries"
12:30-13:30Lunch
13:30-15:30Concluding Panel
15:30–16.00Feedback and Wrap up
The training school will involve keynotes and discussions on topics of participatory design, platform cooperatives, value sensitive design, and how different these and related theoretical concepts can be put into practice, following an excursion to a local co-housing/production project. Our speakers who will present on these topics include Anne Marie Kanstrup, Colin Clark, Daisy Yoo and Susanne Bødker. In the second half of the week, the training school will join with SummerPIT 2019 and hear morning talks and discussions on the topics of understandable AI, evaluation, and research through design and artistic practices, before engaging in group activities in the afternoon. The full program will be available here soon.
The training course, including preparatory reading and a written summary at the end, will give a course credit of 5 ECTS for those interested.
Important dates
- 1 June 2019 - Applications due
- 12 June 2019 - Applicants are notified
- 12 August 2019 - Training School begins
More information is available on the PIT website.