Postgraduate Design Education in Germany: Motivations, Understandings and Experiences of Graduates and Enrolled Students in Master's and Doctoral Programmes

Methods of Forming the Future Designers’ Readiness for Professional and Scientific Research Activities

“…The average numerical values for the same indicators, such as «ability to present ideas on paper», were the lowest in both students' self-assessment and their assessment from their teachers' side. These results align with the findings from other countries, confirming the opinion that designers are not very good at writing scientific texts (Janjamlah & Kaewlai, 2020;Melles & Woelfel, 2014).…”

“…According to the German scientists, design conferences deserve special criticism, where the reviewing of works submitted by researcher-designers is not satisfactory (Liefner et al, 2004). Conversely, practising designers' works are often rejected because they do not meet the requirements for scientific writing (Bichler, 2006;Cross, 2018;Dickinson et al, 2007;Durling, 2002;Laurel & Lunenfeld, 2003;Melles & Woelfel, 2014).…”

“…However, few studies in design education have been conducted, and corresponding dissertations are rarely defended (Flayling, 1993;Lloyd, 2019;Melles & Woelfel, 2014). Thus, a scientific approach is rarely used in design itself and design education.…”

“…No special experimental methods have been developed, and design students are not taught academic writing. The research of Melles and Woelfel (2014) showed that research activity is extremely difficult for students because it has an interdisciplinary nature and requires the ability to formulate own opinion on paper concisely and correctly, as well as to present theoretical material about practical things in a precise, logical sequence.…”

“…Design schools do not teach their graduates the complexities of human perception, social behaviour, marketing, business technology, etc. Thus, future designers are not ready for experimentation, research, and determination of market demands and production risks (Melles & Woelfel, 2014;Meyer & Norman, 2020;Noel, 2020;Valtoen, 2020).…”