Join the Cumulus Working Groups meetings at the Cumulus South Africa 2025 conference!
Design Intelligence and 5IR
Time: November 26-28, 2025, Johannesburg, South Africa
On-site: University of Johannesburg
Online: Teams (free for all interested representatives of Cumulus member institutions)
https://cumulussouthafrica2025.uj.ac.za/
All times are local SAST. (UTC+2) Johannesburg, South Africa
CWGs are communities of practice created by and for our members to share expertise and engage on a diversity of topics that matter to our disciplines.
Through an evolving process of knowledge development and sharing, CWGs create a year-round space for virtual and in-person focused sessions to regularly increase engagement and communication on a variety of relevant and timely interests.
– Global X Working Group
26 November 2025
Time: 15.30-18.30
Teams link
Meeting ID: 399 957 127 617 57
Passcode: cA9CR7P7
Theme: Bridging Gaps with AI: rethinking internationalisation
Costanza Marinelli c.marinelli@strate.design
After an introduction to the higher education system in South Africa by a local expert, this workshop will explore how Artificial Intelligence can be harnessed to support and enhance internationalisation in higher education. Through a combination of expert presentations and interactive group activities, participants will reflect on opportunities, share best practices and discuss the challenges of integrating AI into international strategies.
1. Welcome & Updates (5 min)
● Opening remarks and session objectives
● Key updates on Global X international affairs (online presentation of the members of the board)
2. Round Table Introductions (10 min)
● Short introductions from all participants on site and online
3. Expert Talks (45 min)
Topic 1: Overview of the South African Art & Design Higher Education System (15 minutes)
Topic 2: Harnessing AI to Enhance Internationalisation in Higher Education : 2 case study or expert view (30 minutes)
4. Coffee Break & Networking (20 min)
5. Workshop: Bridging Gaps with AI: rethinking internationalisation (1h30) Format: Group discussions on the following topics:
● Overcoming language barriers (automatic translation, live captioning, multilingual curricula)
● Strengthening intercultural competences and better preparing students and staff for mobility
● Supporting faculty and staff in navigating cultural gaps and enhancing collaboration
● Facilitating internationalisation processes (streamlining admin, translating portals, improving access)
● Enhancing international dissemination of research through AI-enabled multilingual publications These topics will be examined in relation to key challenges associated with AI, including the need to ensure data confidentiality and compliance with legislation (e.g. GDPR in the EU), to address ethical issues in its use for education and internationalisation, to preserve the human touch and interpersonal exchange that technology cannot replace, and to prevent digital fatigue by promoting a balanced, human-centred approach.
7. Closing Discussion (20 min)
● Presentation of group results
● Reflections, action points, and next steps
● Planning for the next online meeting ahead of Cumulus Athens
Cumulus Food Think Tank
26 November 2025
Time: 17.15-18.50
Teams link
Meeting ID: 318 783 954 063
Passcode: mR7vk2hF
Food transformation III: Connectivity
Dolly Daou, Cindebray University, d.daou@dollydaou.org
Following on from Food Transformation I and II this working group will explore the migration of food recipes and identities across continents. Food Think Tank will build on the co-edited Routledge publication the Transformative Nature of Food: Adaptation, Connectivity and Identity (Daou & Sarantou) by inviting authors, researchers and practitioners to explore local and hybrid food identities to design connecting ecological systems.
P-R-E AI Digital Culture Working group
26 November 2025
Time: 17:15-18:50
Teams link
Meeting ID: 371 015 817 362 06
Passcode: 9ij2Qu3B
Frederic Degouzon, L’ecole de Design Nantes f.degouzon@lecolededesign.com
The Cumulus+IxDA partnership – with institutions and organizations from diff erent parts of the world – creates diversifi ed and constructed spaces for conversations building on the synergy of education and research expertise, brought by Cumulusians, along with the practitioners’ perspectives brought by IxDA and its local partners.The Johannesburg session is a follow up to the Nantes session in June 2025 about the shift in Digital Culture with the Cult of AI. How are we bending the corners as practitioners, as researchers, as educators ?The P-R-E series encourages focused conversations on identifying critical elements that further capacity building for designers, at diff erent stages of their careers, from studies to professional practice to lifelong learning. The Johannesburg P-R-E meeting will continue the discussion about what could be or should be at stake for “critical thinking” for any stakeholder. Let’s bend design? Let’s bend AI?
Cumulus Fashion and Textile Working Group
26 November 2025
Time: 17:15.18.50
Teams link
Natacha Lallemand, Desiree Small
A glimpse at African fashion
IP Cumulus Working Group
27 November 2025
Time: 15:30-17:00
Teams link
Meeting ID: 314 912 175 287 1
Passcode: S9tj2tF9
IP and AI strategies for academies
Flora Gubicz, MOME gubicz@mome.hu
At this meeting of the CUMULUS Intellectual Property Working Group , we will continue our collaborative work on the “IP Teaching Standards for Design Academies” toolkit, developed with EUIPO to support the integration of IP education in design and art institutions. In addition, we will open a discussion on the emerging challenges and opportunities of AI in academia, focusing on how universities can develop responsible IP and AI strategies for teaching, research, and creative practice. The session will be a workshop format, aimed at sharing experiences, mapping needs, and co-creating a roadmap for future activities of the Working Group.
In this workshop-format meeting, we will:
– Continue our collaborative work on the IP Teaching Kit & Standards.
– Explore the emerging challenges and opportunities of AI in academia, specifically regarding responsible IP and AI strategies for teaching, research, and creative practice.
– Discuss the AMPRA model, and how it could be integrated into our toolkit.
– Work together on outlining a practical IP + AI Strategy Kit for design academies.
– Define the next steps and timeline for completing the toolkit.
Service Design Working Group
27 November 2025
Time: 15.30-17.00
Teams link
Meeting ID: 390 467 639 411
Passcode: Fz9N8Ek6
Empathetic Service Design for Forward-looking, Emotion-oriented and Relevant Services
Amna Qureshi, Heidi Pietarinen, Satu Miettinen, University of Lapland satu.miettinen@ulapland.fi
Through case studies from across the globe, this workshop helps designers understand how forward-looking service prototyping, analysis and tools can promote and create empathic, emotion-oriented and relevant services. The workshop is based on a book called “Empathic Service Design: Challenges in design, analysis and services” by Eds. Melanie Sarantou, Satu Miettinen and Titta Jylkäs. Please see: https://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/empathic-service-design-9781350476400/The workshop will feature a series of presentations related to the book and provide a discussion forum for sharing experiences.
Presentations:
– Introducing the Empathetic Service Design, Melanie Sarantou, Satu Miettinen & Titta Jylkäs
– User Empathy in the Early Phase of Product–Service Systems Development: Challenges with User Research, Service Blueprinting and Service Prototyping, Thomas Abrell
– Design for Longevity: An Empathic Service Design Framework, Sheng-Hung Lee
– Role of Empathy in Reliving Indigenous Cultural Heritage: Insights from Arts Ceduna, South Australia, Amna Qureshi
– More-Than-Human Empathy in Arts-Based Material Research Processes, Jenny Bergström, Heidi Pietarinen
– Empathic Development for Service Prototyping: Challenges and Opportunities that Emerged During Design Thinking Workshops with Analogue and Digital Tools, Kiwoong Nam
– Using Service Design to Create Smart Jewellery Low-Fi Prototypes for Pandemic Challenges Virve Inget, Mari Suoheimo, Manuela Quaresma, and Jonna Häkkilä
Other workshops:
Co-creating the Designer´s code of ethics
27 November 2025
Time: 15.30-17.00
Teams link
Meeting ID: 344 632 665 026 22
Passcode: vz9km9p4
Roberto Iñiguez Flores, Teresa Franqueira
What should be the ethics that guide the discipline? What constructs are relevant to design dilemmas? Join us to co-create a code of ethics that can help our association develop a code of ethics for our discipline.
“Design Cultures for Peace” – Organised by Cumulus and DESIS, in connection with PDC.2026
26 November 2025
Time: 17.15-18.50
Teams link
Meeting ID: 314 910 262 704 84
Passcode: hg9yp7aW
Debrah Ralitsa, Terence Fenn, Teresa Franqueira
“Design from the Margins”
