From 2015–2018 I conducted my doctoral research at the headquarter of the world’s biggest automotive manufacturer in Germany, in order to inquire how design practices and the role of designers are challenged or reframed inside one large organization.
Being employed as a Ph.D. Candidate in industry in general, and within the investigated organization in particular, creates a special situation of sitting at the fence between academia and industry. Concerning both, the different interests and involvements of many stakeholders, the challenge of taking a double role as a researcher and colleague at the same time, keeping a scientific distance as well as dealing with ethical and organizational constraints need to be acknowledged while conducting research in this setup. Within my talk, I will discuss potential avenues, tendencies, and challenges of an industry-based Ph.D.
Originally trained as a graphic & process designer, Andrea has been active in the development of human-centered future visions for business, social design and design education for more than ten years. In 2015, she was appointed to the Think Tank 30 of the Club of Rome. Alongside her position as a Ph.D. Candidate within the Digitalization Team at Volkswagen Group (2015-2018), she enjoys sharing her professional work experience through lecturing at various universities, in 2018 she holds an international teaching position at the Beijing Normal University Zhuhai, China on a part time basis.
www.andreaaugsten.de
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Shortlist of publications
Book chapters | Bontributions
Augsten, A. & Gekeler, M. (forthcoming), “What attitudes are needed for a collaborative design approach in the new paradigm of the 21-st century design education?” (Für ein neues Paradigma in der Designlehre des 21. Jahrhundert: Welche Haltungen braucht kollaboratives Design?, In: J. Park (Ed.), Design & Bildung - Schriften zur Designpädagogik, Band 2, München: Kopaed Verlag, (forthcoming). Both authors contributed equally in terms of conceptualization and draft writing.
Augsten, A. & Gekeler, M. (2018) “From a master of crafts to a facilitator of innovation. How the increasing importance of creative collaboration requires new ways of teaching design“ (Vom Handwerksmeister zum Facilitator für Innovation. Warum die wachsende Bedeutung kreativer Kollaboration neue Konzepte für die Designlehre fordert), In: Bauer, B., Hensel, D. (Eds.): Designlernen – Werkstattbericht Edulab 01. München: Kopaed Verlag, pp. 53–61. Both authors contributed equally in terms of conceptualization and draft writing.
Peukert, D. & Augsten, A. (2018) “Reflecting on the roles and skill set of designers and design researchers”, In: Swiss Design Network (Eds.) Unfrozen – a design research reader by the Swiss Design Network. Zurich: Triest Verlag. pp. 143-150. Both authors contributed equally regarding conceptualization and draft writing. Peukert edited the final version.
Peer-reviewed conference and journal papers
Augsten, A., Geuy, B., Hollowgrass, R., Jylkäs, T., Makela Klippi, M. (2018) Humanizing organizations - the pathway to growth, In: A. Meroni, A. Medina, B. Villari (Eds.) Proceedings of the ServDes.2018 Conference, Linköping University Electronic Press Linköping, Sweden, 1229 – 1142. All authors contributed equally in terms of data gathering and analysis, myself played a more prominent role in the workshop concept development and the writing.
Marzavan, D., & Augsten, A. (July 2017) Implementing digital innovation through Design Thinking in the German Automotive Industry: the interplay between headquarters and innovation labs. In: Proceedings (unpublished conference paper) 33rd EGOS Colloquium: The Good Organization: Using Design in, around and for good organizations, Copenhagen. Both authors contributed equally in terms of conceptualization and draft writing; myself played a more prominent role in conceptualizing.
Augsten, A., & Marzavan, D. (June 2017). Achieving sustainable innovation for organizations through the practice of Design Thinking. A case study in the German automotive industry. In Proceedings (unpublished conference paper) 28th ISPIM Innovation Management, Vienna. (note: The publication is available to ISPIM members at www.ispim.org.) Both authors contributed equally in terms of data analysis and draft writing, myself played a more prominent role in theory and conceptualizing.
Augsten, A., & Gekeler, M. (2017) From a master of crafts to a facilitator of innovation. How the increasing importance of creative collaboration requires new ways of teaching design. In: The Design Journal, 20:sup1, 1058-S1071, DOI: 10.1080/14606925.2017.1353049 Both authors contributed equally to concept and draft writing, myself played a more prominent role in the theoretical framework.