[Call for papers] Training the Researchers of the Future

Posted on 2025-07-22

TRAINING THE RESEARCHERS OF THE FUTURE.
EMERGING PRACTICES IN DESIGN SCHOOLS

 

ABSTRACT

In a challenging global context, design education is expanding its theoretical, methodological, and epistemological frameworks by engaging in dialogue with other disciplines and encouraging students to explore complex issues through collaborative, speculative, and reflective approaches. Consequently, an increasing number of undergraduate research projects have managed to transcend curricular limitations, contributing to the development of disciplinary knowledge. This special issue aims to bring together such works, highlighting their academic value, disciplinary contribution, and potential impact on the professional and social environment. Base Diseño e Innovación (BDI) invites graduates and their thesis advisors or mentors to submit articles presenting the results of design research carried out as part of their degree projects between 2018 and 2024. Likewise, academics who have led these initiatives are invited to share their experiences, reflections, and the theoretical and methodological approaches that have guided their teaching practice.

 

CALL FOR PAPERS

Design has reconfigured its traditional role focused exclusively on the creation of products, services, and experiences to position itself today as a critical discipline that generates relevant knowledge to contribute to fields as diverse as economics, the environment, health, culture, and education (Manzini, 2015). In a society increasingly marked by uncertainty, complexity, and global challenges, design not only responds to contemporary problems but also questions its own processes, tools, and methodologies.

This shift towards research has allowed design to engage in dialogue with other disciplines, adopting methodologies from the social and natural sciences, the humanities, engineering, and emerging technologies in order to expand its theoretical frameworks and generate applicable knowledge. Through design thinking, speculative design, and collaborative approaches, the discipline has demonstrated its ability to conceive possible futures through practice and critical reflection.

However, this process is not without tensions. Despite its consolidation in some regions and universities, design research still faces barriers to its academic and scientific legitimacy. Questions persist about what constitutes knowledge in design, how it is validated, and what its differentiating contributions are. There are also institutional limitations to consolidating programs that actively promote research within design schools, especially in contexts where the discipline is still perceived as an essentially applied activity (Rodgers & Yee, 2023).

From a teaching perspective, design research carried out by undergraduate students is emerging as a key strategy for strengthening disciplinary development, as well as promoting meaningful and relevant learning. In fact, various studies in the field of higher education support the benefits of incorporating research into the early stages of university education. It has been shown that involving undergraduate students in research processes not only enriches their learning, but also promotes autonomy, critical thinking, and commitment to the generation of original knowledge.

As it is a practice that enables a deep approach to disciplinary problems, it contributes to the development of inquiry skills and promotes the production of knowledge from situated perspectives. In addition, it improves participation and academic performance, increases student retention and graduation rates, and strengthens key skills for interdisciplinary and collaborative work (Huet et al., 2021; Ramírez-Montoya et al., 2021). In the context of Education 4.0, these experiences also prepare future professionals to face uncertain and highly dynamic environments (Rodríguez-Abitia et al., 2020).

However, this path presents significant challenges. Students are often unaware of existing opportunities to participate in research, face economic constraints, or lack formal channels for academic support. Furthermore, the relationship between teachers and students in research contexts is not always institutionally structured, which hinders the sustained development of a culture of research in design (Saavedra-Cantor et al., 2015).

On the other hand, most undergraduate research programs are geared toward students in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) fields, often leaving those studying Design behind, which highlights the need to promote specific initiatives for these fields (Tellez & España, 2022).

Despite this unfavorable context, in recent years, design schools have made progress in developing research carried out by undergraduate students that contributes to the field, whether in historical, theoretical, or methodological terms, as well as developing knowledge that can be transferred to various productive sectors. Much of this research, which emerged in the context of degree projects, also known as final projects or final dissertations, has gone beyond the time and teaching limits imposed by the curriculum and has continued to develop after the students' graduation through the obtaining of state or institutional funding for its implementation, the application for patents, its implementation in various contexts, and its presentation at international conferences. This demonstrates the value of these initiatives.

With the aim of highlighting and valuing these experiences, Base Diseño e Innovación (BDI)  invites graduates and their thesis advisors or mentors to submit articles presenting the results of design research carried out as part of their degree projects between 2018 and 2024. Likewise, academics who have led these initiatives are invited to share their experiences, reflections, and the theoretical and methodological approaches that have guided their teaching practice.

Some of the suggested topics for this edition are:

  • Impact of design on the economy, the environment, and society: Research on how design processes and products affect their context and generate value beyond the functional. How do design projects contribute in these areas? What role does the local or global context play in the formulation of design solutions?
  • Research tools and methodologies in design: Exploration of methods, approaches, and strategies used to investigate, experiment, and validate knowledge in design at the undergraduate level. What methods are most appropriate for generating knowledge in design at the undergraduate level? How is design practice articulated with critical reflection?
  • Interdisciplinary design: Experiences of collaboration between design and other disciplines that have led to research, innovation, or complex solutions. What lessons and challenges emerge from interdisciplinary work in design research processes? How can an integrative perspective be built from the undergraduate level?
  • Training of design researchers at the undergraduate level: Studies or experiences that demonstrate the impact of guided research, institutional barriers, and opportunities to consolidate a research culture from the early years. What pedagogical models, teaching strategies, or curricular experiences have enabled early research processes to be activated? How can institutional and economic barriers be overcome?

 

ABOUT THE JOURNAL

Base Diseño e Innovación is a bilingual (Spanish-English) biannual publication created in 2014 by the Faculty of Design at the Universidad del Desarrollo. Its research section is peer-reviewed and focuses on disseminating new knowledge with scientific standards in the field of design and related areas. It seeks to encourage critical reflection and methodological and disciplinary strengthening in design through the dissemination of articles based on formal research and transfer projects. It publishes articles that address a wide range of topics related to design and are based on varied theoretical perspectives and methodological strategies. It has an electronic platform that facilitates access, storage, and consultation of content at any time and place. Through its open access policy, it seeks to contribute to greater democratization and exchange of knowledge.

The journal understands design research as the systematic, verifiable, replicable, and communicable search for answers to theoretical, methodological, or empirical problems that contribute to the development of new knowledge in the field of design. Its objective is to “extract reliable knowledge from the natural or artificial world and make that knowledge available to others in a reusable form” (Cross, 1999, p. 9). The object of study may focus on designers, users, products, services, and processes. As in any discipline, design research should be purposeful, based on a problem that is amenable to investigation and relevant to the discipline of design; inquisitive, oriented toward generating new knowledge; informed by a body of available knowledge from previous research; methodical, planned, and rigorously executed; and communicable through the open and accessible dissemination of its results to the academic community (Cross, 1999).

Base Diseño e Innovación publishes original articles reporting on research both for design, about design, and through design. Research for design, also called project-based research or action research, is usually carried out as limited case studies whose results can be applied to similar cases. Research about design takes as its object of study the discipline of design, its products, processes, methods, actors, or its impact on society, the economy, or culture. Research through design, on the other hand, focuses on the development of prototypes as research tools in different areas of reality (Frayling, 1993; Herrera, 2010; Frankel & Racine, 2010; Glanville, 2023).

Contributions will be accepted in the form of original research, case studies, systematic literature reviews, theoretical or methodological essays, or critical accounts of experiences developed as part of educational processes. Proposals must come from projects guided by faculty members, whether they are degree or graduate seminars, interdisciplinary collaboration programs, or scientific initiation programs.

 

Submission Requirements
  • Submissions must be uploaded through BDI’s OJS platform. Authors must register and follow the provided instructions.
  • Articles must be original, unpublished, and not under review elsewhere. Updated versions of previously presented conference papers are accepted, as long as this is clearly indicated in the abstract or introduction.

Manuscripts should include:

  • Introduction section (including the theoretical and empirical background, state of the art, research problem, hypothesis or question, and objectives).
  • Methodology section (including research scope, procedures, materials, and data collection/analysis techniques)
  • Results, Discussion and conclusion
  • Maximum length: 5000 words
  • References must follow APA 7th edition, including URLs or DOIs whenever possible.
  • Review full submission guidelines at the following link.
Types of Contributions
  • Research articles and case studies
  • Research-based teaching experiences
  • Systematic literature reviews
  • Theoretical articles
  • Applied or technology transfer projects
 Languages

Manuscripts may be submitted in Spanish or English.

 Important Dates
  • Call for submission: July, 21
  • Full article submission deadline (max. 5,000 words): September 15
  • Peer review period: September 15–29
  • Submission of revised articles by authors: October 20
  • Online publication: December 31

 

DOWNLOAD CALL FOR PAPERS

 

REFERENCES

Cross, N. (1999). Design research: A disciplined conversation. Design Issues, 15(2), 5–10. https://doi.org/10.2307/1511837

Frankel, L., & Racine, M. (2010). The complex field of research: For design, through design, and about design. In D. Durling et al. (Eds.), Design and complexity – DRS International Conference 2010, 7–9 July, Montreal, Canada. https://dl.designresearchsociety.org/drs-conference-papers/drs2010/researchpapers/43

Frayling, C. (1994). Research in art and design. Royal College of Art Research Papers, 1(1). https://researchonline.rca.ac.uk/id/eprint/384

Glanville, R. (2024). The sometimes uncomfortable marriages of design and research. In The Routledge Companion to Design Research (pp. 10–23). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003182443-3

Herrera Batista, M. A. (2010). Investigación y diseño: Reflexiones y consideraciones con respecto al estado de la investigación actual en diseño. No Solo Usabilidad, 9. https://www.nosolousabilidad.com/articulos/investigacion_diseno.htm

Huet, I., Gonçalves, T., Costa, N., & Rodrigues, A. (2021). Undergraduate research in Portugal: Practice and policy perspectives. In H. A. Mieg et al. (Eds.), The Cambridge Handbook of Undergraduate Research (pp. 615–628). Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108869508.087

Manzini, E. (2015). Design, when everybody designs: An introduction to design for social innovation. MIT Press.

Ramírez-Montoya, M. S., Loaiza-Aguirre, M. I., Zúñiga-Ojeda, A., & Portuguez-Castro, M. (2021). Characterization of the teaching profile within the framework of Education 4.0. Future Internet, 13(4), 91. https://doi.org/10.3390/fi13040091

Rodgers, P., & Yee, J. (2023). Design research for a complex world. Bloomsbury.

Rodríguez-Abitia, G., Martínez-Pérez, S., Ramirez-Montoya, M. S., & Lopez-Caudana, E. (2020). Digital gap in universities and challenges for quality education: A diagnostic study in Mexico and Spain. Sustainability, 12(21), 7053. https://doi.org/10.3390/su12219069

Saavedra-Cantor, C. J. S., Muñoz-Sánchez, A. I., Antolínez-Figueroa, C., Rubiano-Mesa, Y. L., & Puerto-Guerrero, A. H. (2015). Semilleros de investigación: Desarrollos y desafíos para la formación en pregrado. Educación y Educadores, 18(3), 355–372. https://doi.org/10.5294/edu.2015.18.3.1

Tellez, F. A., & España, J. M. (2022). Biomaterials for change: Natural fiber composites to support design learning and rural development. Base Diseño E Innovación, 7(7), 145–161. https://doi.org/10.52611/bdi.num7.2022.808