The Department of Design, together with beneficiary universities Aalborg Universitet, SWPS Uniwersytet Humanistycznospoleczny, Vrije Universiteit, Syddansk Universitet and RMIT Europe (Spain), and associated partners University of the Arts London, Moholy-Nagy University of Art and Design Budapest, and Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT) University (Australia), has been awarded a grant of over 2mil EUR by the European Commission - European Research Executive Agency - for the prestigious Marie Skłodowska-Curie Action Doctoral Networks of the European Union's Horizon Europe framework programme. This prestigious network is also complemented by 13 associated partners that will strengthen the training, employability and professional development of doctoral candidates.

The Marie Skłodowska-Curie action promotes cross-country, cross-discipline and cross-sector cooperation to ensure the development of new skills, innovation and competences for excellent researchers working on emerging and transdisciplinary topics.

The CoDesign4Transitions network is dedicated to nurturing the talents of 13 transdisciplinary Doctoral Researchers between January 2024-December 2027. The doctoral researchers will carry out new research and develop skills at the intersection of co-design, sustainability, service and systems design, democratic innovation, and climate transitions. In the context of contentious sustainability transitions, the project will provide these researchers with a unique opportunity to pioneer democratic design methodologies for climate transitions in an interdisciplinary, intersectoral environment.

The 13 non-academic partners from business, civil society, policy and local government will offer researchers secondments, training and support to develop new methodological approaches and develop and test their research in context, leading to positive local impacts across Europe.

Marzia Mortati, Associate Professor at the Department of Design at the Politecnico di Milano and scientific coordinator of the project, said “I am delighted with the award, given the importance of the project's themes and the involvement of a range of academic and non-academic partners, all recognised for their relevant experience in the field.”

Lucy Kimbell, Professor of Contemporary Design Practices at Central Saint Martins, University of the Arts London, who initiated and is working closely with POLIMI to deliver the project, said, “We are excited to participate in this doctoral network to leverage the capacities of design to advance the next generation of equitable sustainable transitions.”

Starting January 15, 2024, the recruitment to identify 13 transdisciplinary researchers from anywhere in the world (subject to Marie Curie mobility rules), including 10 funded by the MCSA and three funded by the Hungarian and UK Governments, who will be employed and supervised within this network.

For more information visit codesign4transitions.eu.