Kyushu University is a university with a School of Design, which was unparalleled in Japan about half a century ago. School of Design is a field of study that emerged for the first time when the predecessor Kyushu Institute of Design was established. Using the power of design, which has been one of our strengths since that time, we are making proposals for everything from the education of human resources for the new era to various and complex issues in society. The Graduate School of Art and Design aims to return each of these results to the community and realize a happy and prosperous society for all humankind.

During unprecedented changes in society, the Faculty of Design, Kyushu University, has always explored the role of society in design from a bird’s eye view and has promoted the creation of innovation and the resulting development of the economy and society. In November 2020, we held several events as “KYUDAI GEIKO INNOVATION MONTH,” involving industry, academia, and the private sector to explore the possibility of creating new value through the power of design from a variety of perspectives.

Association of Design Departments and School in Japanese Public Universities Conference (November 7)
Twenty-two public design universities meet in person or online to discuss design education and research at an annual meeting. The theme of this year’s conference was “Corona: New Lifestyle and Design,” and the participants actively shared information and exchanged opinions about the future.

SDGs Design International Awards 2020 Final Presentation and Award Ceremony (November 10)
The SDGs Design International Awards, established in 2019, once again called for design ideas from students worldwide. 1563 people worldwide watched live as the finalists gave their final presentations, and the award ceremony was held.

Geiko Festival (Nov. 13 – Nov. 15)
This year’s festival, held at Kyushu University’s Ohashi Campus, was the first-ever to be had online.

Design Studies Seminar “Post-Speculative Biologies” (November 20)
The Faculty of Design has been working on the basic theory of design studies to systematize design and hold seminars on design studies on an ongoing basis. This time, we invited bio-artist Georg Tremmel.

Online Symposium “Discussion on the Future of Media Arts in Asia! (November 22)
The Asia Digital Art Awards FUKUOKA (ADAA) judges, a media art competition from Fukuoka that is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year, are invited to discuss the transformation of digital art and design, its future, and the role of competitions in supporting creators.

Japan-China Design Symposium (November 29)
Five Chinese universities and three Japanese universities collaborated online to exchange opinions on the history and initiatives related to design education at each university, providing a forum for deepening collaboration to create new areas of design and value.

Asian Design Symposium (November 29)
Asian universities from seven countries, including Japan, engaged in design education exchanged opinions online, and a wide range of topics was discussed, including creating new academic research fields through collaboration among design universities in Asia.

The Faculty of Design, Kyushu University, will draw on its 50 years of experience to further approach new areas of design from both an academic and practical perspective. The Graduate School of Art and Design, Kyushu University, will continue to challenge creating next-generation innovation while practicing design for solving social issues by embracing diverse values through international collaboration.