DRS 2014, the conference of the Design Research Society which is this year hosted by my current institutional home of the Umeå Institute of Design, begins in just a few days now on the Arts Campus of Umeå University. Since I have ended up as local organisation chair for the conference I have been heavily involved in planning and preparations for the last several months, so it’s exciting (and a little stressful!) that it is almost here. I think it’s going to be a great conference, both in terms of the content and the overall conference experience.

The new formats of ‘Debates’ and ‘Conversations’ are particularly exciting. The chairs of those tracks, Carl DiSalvo and Jamer Hunt, have curated some provocative and intriguing sessions, which promise a much more interactive experience than traditional paper and (particularly) keynote presentations and center around ‘big debates’ in design.

The full program is posted at http://www.drs2014.org/en/programme/conference-programme/. There should also be live streaming of the debates, which begin at 9.30 Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday (June 16-18) and at 11.30 on Thursday (June 19). The official hashtag is #drs14, and hopefully there will be a lively and interactive conversation going on there as well!