STEDEX '09

THE PROFESSIONAL VERSUS RESEARCHER DICHOTOMY


It was truly a historic day for the Faculty of Design and Architecture on 5th December 2008. It was a day to remember because never before a large numbers of design academicians and management of the faculty casted their commitments to change how “business” should run in the faculty. It was a “do it” or otherwise “die” situation. They were serious about breaking the status quo of the faculty and in doing so, willingly braving the challenges that are expectedly forthcoming. It was profoundly obvious that there were always two groups of design academicians: the professionals and the researchers. The greatest misconception is, the professionals do not write (let alone publishing) while the researchers have an easier time publishing their research outcomes. Not publishing has always been the bane of any design school and our faculty is guilty in part if defined in the conventional perception of “writing”. The challenge is, is it possible to inculcate a “research” culture in a dominantly “professional” design environment. Can design academicians perform like scientists and social scientists in other fields? Can the faculty allow design academicians to continue doing what they do best teaching design studios— while publishing indexed articles concurrently. Those present on that day saw hope in the unlimited possibilities of reaching the citation-indexed requirements by continuing to do what every design academicians are good at and trained for teaching design studios.

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