Developing (co)design process and tools to innovate education through digital do it yourself

The current societal trend of digitally enabled self-production (i.e. digital Do-It-Yourself) is emblematic of the contemporary and diffuse attitude to make and create. It also reflects the new attitude of people to rely on the strengthen of collaboration to improve their life. It has been seen as an opportunity for social and technological innovation based on collaboration and knowledge sharing. These practices and technologies have many potentialities that are changing the world on an everyday and community level (i.e. attitudes to consumption, sustainable solutions and community networks). The resurgence of DIY and craft industries “is a strong indicator that people are seeking ways to express their creativity” [1]. In this context where Digital DIY is playing a leading role in developing a more creative society and where everyone does design, professional designers may have to find their new roles. The paper describes the DiDIY design process as a result of human centred co-design workshops held within the framework of the EU funded project ‘Digital Do-It-Yourself (DiDIY) in two different countries [2]. The main workshops objective was to test and validate a specific co-design process and the related design toolkit, developed by IDEActivity Centre, helping people to apply the innovative aspects of DiDIY in their professional field. In the specific case the paper present the application of the process in the Education&Research area investigated by the EU project.