Join us for the Scottish Design Workshop 2027
The Scottish Design Workshop will bring together academics, practitioners, and others to discuss design and engineering issues. This one-day event will focus on the development of joint research proposals to tackle the most urgent and systemic challenges of today.
The date of the 2027 conference and information on how to participate will be released in December 2026.
This workshop will support academics at all levels of their career to:
- Build your local, national and international network
- Learn from more experienced peers in preparing for and managing research projects
- Develop a professional profile through leadership and mentorship opportunities
- Collaborate beyond established networks to tackle wicked problems
We welcome design practitioners to collaborate with researchers from across Scotland, the UK and the world, proposing real-world problems and the opportunity to access funding in collaboration with academics.
The Scottish Design Workshop builds upon the success of the Clive L. Dym Mudd Design Workshop, and is associated with the Canadian Design Workshop and the Africa Design & Innovation Symposium.
The Design Society endorses the Scottish Design Workshop.
Delegates will explore three topics with particular strategic importance for the design and design engineering community, and a clear opportunity for funding. Each topic workshop will last one hour with varied formats encouraging the discussion of ideas.
Health and Social Care
Health and social care systems face growing challenges associated with ageing populations, workforce pressures, long-term conditions, and unequal access to services. Design and engineering research can help develop innovative products, services, and systems that improve quality of life, support independent living, enhance care delivery, and create more resilient health and social care ecosystems.
Space
The rapidly expanding space sector presents exciting opportunities for design and engineering innovation. From satellite technologies and autonomous systems to sustainable exploration and space-enabled services on Earth, research in this area is shaping the future of industry and society. Designers and engineers play a critical role in developing solutions that operate in extreme environments, support emerging space economies, and create technologies with applications far beyond the space sector itself.
Making
Making remains central to economic prosperity, technological advancement, and societal well-being. Advances in manufacturing, digital production, materials, craftsmanship, automation, and circular economy approaches are transforming how products and systems are conceived, produced, and maintained. Research in making can help bridge traditional skills and emerging technologies, enabling more sustainable, resilient, and innovative approaches to creating value across industry and society.
Join us at the University of Glasgow, Glasgow, UK.