May 2023: Successful restart of the Inter­na­tional Seminar Week

In May 2023, Univer­sity of Applied Sciences Schwä­bisch Gmünd (HfG) hosted the Inter­na­tional Seminar Week. A total of 20 work­shops by lectu­rers from the HfG, but also from our partner univer­si­ties, desi­gners, and spea­kers from Israel, Italy, Hungary, Estonia, and Austria were on the agenda with regard to current deve­lo­p­ments in design, culture, and society. 

Since 2004, Univer­sity of Applied Sciences Schwä­bisch Gmünd (HfG) has offered the so-called ​„Inter­na­tional Seminar Week“. This year, from May 8 to 12, 2023, students from all semes­ters could attend work­shops and lectures based on their profes­sional inte­rests toge­ther with lectu­rers from HfG partner univer­si­ties: The Topics ranged from ​„Art in the Public Sphere of Israel“ to ​„Desig­ning Prompts“ to ​„Human Beha­vior and the Way of Thin­king“ and ​„Provo­king Colla­bo­ra­tion“. William Levi, Inter­na­tional Coor­di­nator at HfG, says: ​„Through this program, the ​„Inter­na­tional Seminar Week´ is now making a successful restart in presence after the 2020 – 2022 Corona hiatus. One work­shop of the program was a so-called ​„Blended Inten­sive Program“, in which – in addi­tion to the program of the Inter­na­tional Seminar Week – students could travel to Graz to the Joan­neum Univer­sity of Applied Sciences.“ 

Wide range of topics: from sustaina­bi­lity and the future of the city to Arti­fi­cial Intelligence 

At HfG, one of the topics available for work­shop parti­ci­pa­tion was ​„Sustaina­bi­lity and the Future of the City“ (Desig­ning Urban Futures, lecturer Poonam Choudry) – with the analysis of archi­tec­tural struc­tures, socio­po­li­tical processes, and the task for students to consider so-called ​„human-centered design“ in the crea­tion of new urban concepts: Moving away from the ​„car-oriented city“ of the 1950s and 1960s and its urban after­maths towards more ​„livable“ urban space with colla­bo­ra­tive solu­tion processes by design, archi­tec­ture, and urban planning. 

Italian lecturer Chiara Lecce from Poli­tec­nico di Milan took up the theme of ​„space“ in the work­shop ​„Glim­pses of Future Ways of Dwel­ling“ and discussed with parti­ci­pa­ting students the ques­tion of what future living situa­tions and cultures might be: What is the design of one’s own home, how much space is needed in American, Euro­pean or Asian buil­ding culture for indi­vi­dual happi­ness or subsis­tence?! And if indi­vi­dual and commu­nity inter­ac­tion might be more and more shaped by human-machine inter­ac­tion and arti­fi­cial intel­li­gence (AI) in the coming years – how can gene­ra­tive AI, for example, be both criti­cally constructive/​ethically respon­sible on the part of humans and used in art, culture, society and design? 

„The parti­ci­pants in my work­shop ´AI Play´ were very atten­tive and curious from day one of the Inter­na­tional Seminar Week. Besides that, the aspect that the parti­ci­pants came from diffe­rent design disci­plines, e.g. product, commu­ni­ca­tion or inter­ac­tion design, enri­ched the 5 days and contri­buted to a very fruitful atmo­sphere of the Inter­na­tional Seminar Week,“ says Luka Or, lecturer at Holon Insti­tute of Tech­no­logy in Israel and super­vi­sing head of the work­shop ​„AI Play“. 

Inspi­ra­tion, moti­va­tion and inter­na­tional networking

„The Inter­na­tional Seminar Week offered the oppor­tu­nity to network with inte­res­ting design experts from home and abroad. The students also presented very presen­table work­shop results and design solu­tions within one week in the respec­tive work­shops. All in all: a successful week full of inspi­ra­tion, moti­va­tion and exch­ange,“ says Olivier Brückner, head of the work­shop ​„Crea­ting Inter­ac­tive Proto­cols without Code“.