January SEED salon: Sean McDougall

Tuesday January 9, 7 pm at the Odessa Club, Dame Court, Dublin 2. Donation: 5 Euro.

How can connecting art, science and engineering transform education? SEAN MCDOUGALL has some provocative ideas about this which he will explore through his new intelligent fountain project with FutureLab and other adventures in learning through design.

SEAN MCDOUGALL is Managing Director of Stakeholder Design. He came into prominence as a commentator on the Northern Ireland peace process and his suggestions influenced the design of the decommissioning process. Sean was a founder member of the UK Department for Education and Skills Schools Design Advisory Council, which is overseeing the implementation of Building Schools for the Future and the Academies programme. He has helped a number of organisations to improve their dialogue with young people, and he advises Back Care, a national charity concerned with the negative impact that poor school furniture has on physical health. a and seminars on risk management for the Specialist Schools and Academies Trust. Prior to establishing Stakeholder Design, Sean was Campaign Leader for Learning Environments at the UK’s Design Council. Here, he was responsible for a Government-funded investigation of how to use design to improve educational outcomes. The result, Schools Renaissance, changed the way in which schools across England think of themselves. Its process of user-led design allowed teachers and students to co-design their own outcomes rather than commissioning specialist suppliers. Outcomes from the campaign included new types of furniture, 360 degree flexible classrooms, new approaches to teaching and learning, a new magazine on educational renewal and www.designmyschool.com