The main objective of DESIG*ness is to create the conditions for a radical transformation of Higher Education Systems. The DESIG*ness project, aims to catalyze significant transformation within the European Higher Education system, focusing on inclusivity and transformative design. It seeks to create an educational context where accessibility and diversity are foundational, aligning with the evolving societal expectations towards inclusivity. Reaching long-lasting cultural transformation through Design, promoting inclusiveness in Higher Education Systems, integrating and establishing new learning products on Design Inclusiveness in Art and Design Academies programs, the aim of this project is to lay the foundations for a network of HED institutions committed in practice-based research on Design Inclusiveness. The greatest ambition of this project resides in changing the mindset of the professionals of the future, towards design practices that will be based and developed on new methodologies and strategies.
The needs, in particular, the special needs and the desires of people with different abilities were the ones addressed into this project, and were the starting point for DESIG*ness idea, with the ambition of a design school that would be able in the next years to have the tools, the vision and the knowledge to educate the professionals of the future towards a more inclusive world, a world were different abilities, diversities and disabilities are seen as opportunities. Therefore, the most relevant topics addressed by D*ness concern inclusivity in HED within Art and Design Academies. Specifically, the project aims to integrate Design for All and co-design methodologies and competencies into regular teaching activities, overcoming the traditional approach that views disability as a separate category. Another central aspect has been the development of innovative educational tools to raise awareness among educators and students about the importance of inclusion in everyday design practice. In addition to raising awareness on inclusion and diversity, the main objective of DESIG*ness is to create the conditions for a radical transformation of Higher Education Systems.