ETHO Technical Community Conference
Crafting the Future

Fiona Dowling, Rachel Davis, University of West England, United Kingdom
In the face of financial pressures, time constraints, and reduced staffing in UK universities, maintaining space for play and exploration in technical teaching is crucial. Play reduces outcome pressure, enhancing well-being and confidence. Understanding materials—their origins, properties, and environmental impact—empowers students to make informed choices. Hands-on material engagement sparks interest and aids learning, especially for neurodivergent individuals or non-native English speakers. Fiona Dowling & Rachel Davis advocate for curiosity-driven, interdisciplinary learning, embracing failure to foster exchange, exploration, and innovation. This workshop shares experiences and tools, such as a 'Conditions for Play' manifesto, activity cards, and diverse material samples, to support playful, material-focused learning.

Lynsey Calder, Lynn Robertson, The Glasgow School of Art, United Kingdom
Immerse yourself in the therapeutic world of natural crafting in a workshop that celebrates traditional skills and environmental stewardship. This hands-on workshop explores the intersection of traditional craftsmanship, biodiversity promotion, and personal wellbeing using natural materials. Participants will engage in a variety of activities that not only foster creativity but also deepen their connection to nature and open up the possibilities of their local ecosystems. Learn about GSA’s Highland campus garden and how it enhances teaching and the student experience. We will explore and use plant and found materials to create small ephemeral sculptural works. There will be insight into sustainable planting practices and discussion around identification of various plant species which can be cultivated and processed to produce making materials. The therapeutic benefits of working with natural materials will be emphasised, focusing on how these activities can reduce stress and promote overall well-being. As you engage with nature's textures, colours, and forms, you'll develop a deeper connection to the environment and to yourself.

Dominic Dives, Katharina Bellinger, Dresden Academy of Fine Arts, Germany
Design teaching often remains hierarchical, contrasting with participatory design practices. To address this, the presenters developed “RE:LEARN - Playful ways of participation”, an innovative seminar for product design students. This project aims to shift design teaching towards a student-centred, participatory model based on “Students as Partners” (Mercer-Mapstone, 2017). “RE:LEARN” emphasises active student involvement, peer learning, and creating motivating learning environments. Domenic Dives and Katharina Bellinger present project outcomes, including educational games and tools created by students, and share lessons learned in planning, implementation, and evaluation. The potential of transferring this approach to other fields will also be explored.

Judith Lena Bartels, Anja Engelke, Markus Liebich, Daniel Neubacher, Lucas Schmidt and Zane Zlemeša, University of the Arts Bremen, Germany
WATT is a programme initiated by Lena Bartels and Anja Engelke at the University of the Arts Bremen. Students at the University of the Arts Bremen can explore various artistic disciplines and realise their projects in well-equipped workshops. This process often requires collaboration between different workshops. WATT was created to promote professional knowledge exchange between workshop coordinators. Self-initiated and led by the workshop supervisors, the programme aims to broaden the understanding of artistic and technical possibilities at the university. Through recurring events, the workshop supervisors offer internal learning sessions for their colleagues, thus fostering cross-workshop exchange of knowledge and experience. In the workshop offered here, participants have the opportunity to share knowledge with one another and experience the enriching dynamics of the WATT concept. No prior knowledge or special skills are required.

Vitor Gomes, University of Évora, School of Arts
This workshop and lecture explore artistic ceramics from traditional crafts to contemporary practices. Topics include sustainable practices in ceramic production, using recycled materials, and reducing environmental impact. The role of ceramics in artistic education will be discussed through exercises that highlightits pedagogical value. Additionally, the session examines the intersection of ceramics and digital technologies, showcasing how tools like 3D printing, digital modelling, and augmented reality are transforming the field. The aim is to explore the potential of combining ancient ceramic crafts with modern technological innovations.

Laura Berens Baker, Vincent Hart, University of the Arts London, United Kingdom
The Grow Lab at Central Saint Martins is an innovative research hub established in 2019, aimed at fostering collaboration between art, design, and science. The lab is known for its interdisciplinary approach, bringing together scientists, artists, and designers to explore themes such as sustainability, bio-material innovation, and the origins of life. Grow Lab integrates sustainability and material experimentation into its projects, making it a focal point for cutting-edge, transdisciplinary exploration. At Central Saint Martins, bio-pigments have been explored as part of a growing movement in sustainable design and innovation. These pigments are derived from natural sources, such as plants, microorganisms, and algae, to create environmentally friendly alternatives to synthetic dyes in textiles. Central Saint Martins’ engagement in bio-pigment research connects with its broader mission to incorporate biotechnology into design.

Thea Chatrná, Academy of Arts, Architecture and Design in Prague (Umprum), Czech Republic
This presentation explores the possibilities of harvesting the resources often untapped in the Central European landscape, such as the plant Impatiens glandulifera, while considering the ongoing ecosystem transformations due to climate change. It examines approaches to plant species typically regarded negatively through the lens of current human attitudes toward nature. The research proposes responsible harvesting methods, eco-friendly processing to create organic raw materials, and further creation. The presentation introduces key considerations in these phases, including waste management, to ensure sustainability. It also demonstrates how to convey this knowledge to students and the public through exhibitions, publications, and workshops in higher arts education.

Theodora Prassa, Nottingham Trent University, United Kingdom
As sustainability becomes increasingly vital, academic institutions must adapt and evolve to serve as models. Nottingham Trent University addresses this through a Natural Dye Garden, managed by technicians, providing a practical resource for students and staff. This garden promotes environmental awareness and community engagement on campus. As a team member, Theodora Prassa organises activities and collaborates with student volunteers to sustain the garden. Additionally, she works on initiatives to introduce natural dye recipes, reducing reliance on chemicals in print areas. The goal is to enhance art and design curricula through hands-on masterclasses and technical sessions, equipping students to become future innovators.

Karen Harsbo, Malene Bang, Oskar Koliander, Royal Danish Art Academy, Denmark
The Digital Materialities artistic research project explores the intersection of technological and biological networks, focusing on mycology, the study of fungi, and our coexistence with other species. The interdisciplinary team at the Royal Danish Art Academy developed methods for 3D printing biomasses with living mycelium and software to support these processes. Combining expertise in digital manufacturing, ceramics, and sustainable materials, the project included workshops and presentations for students and faculty. It connects digital technologies with biological life, contributing to research on sustainable materials, digital economies, and the entanglement of human identity with non-human actors and natural forces.

Marta Rota, Flavia Matei, University of Arts Linz, Austria
BASEhabitat, a design studio within the Department of Architecture at the University of Arts Linz, redefines architectural education by emphasising environmental and social responsibility. Its courses focus on hands-on, context-based learning, promoting practical engagement with bio-based and regenerative materials. Through "Materials Modules", students explore the full life cycle of materials, gaining technical skills and an understanding of their environmental impact. Students also analyse case studies and develop a collaborative digital database linking academia and industry. BASEhabitat's approach fosters technical competence and a shift in mindset, encouraging architects to prioritise sustainability. Recently, it has explored interdisciplinary collaborations with Creative Robotics, combining bio-based materials and digital fabrication for future sustainable building practices.

Matteo Bergamini, Politecnico di Milano, Italy
Since 2014, Photojournalism has been taught to third-year Design students at the Politecnico di Milano, aiming to enhance designers' storytelling abilities through honest, impactful images of the real world. The course combines technical photography skills with investigative journalism and aesthetic storytelling, emphasising the importance of communication, ethics, and perspectives. Students engage in technical lessons, weekly exercises, and co-design of photographic reportages, working both individually and in groups. The course encourages reflection on the mechanisms of storytelling and the relationship between design and real-world narratives, creating visual content for static and multimedia formats. The course “Photojournalism: narrating through images” exemplifies the integration of academic, technical, communicative, and relational content.

Kate Dixon, Manchester Metropolitan University, United Kingdom
Who are Gen Z? What are the challenges they face? What are their dreams and aspirations for their time at university and beyond? This session provides you with a unique opportunity to take some time and space to consider our generational traits and to hear from some Manchester Met students via a short film they made especially for this session. The session invites you to reflect on your professional practice from a Gen Z perspective.

Chloé Bousquet, TALM Higher School or Art and Design, France; Marta Rota and Martin Schwab, University of Arts Linz, Austria
The SCALExD project, funded by Erasmus+ and running from October 2024 to September 2027, involves TALM Higher School of Art and Design, Creative Robotics at the University for Arts and Design Linz, and the Institute for Advanced Architecture of Catalonia (Iaac). SCALExD aims to train a new generation of "digital" craftsmen, designers, artists, and architects through an interdisciplinary curriculum blending art, design, engineering, and architecture. The project focuses on sustainable materials and new technologies to revive declining European craft sectors. It connects small-scale experimentation with large-scale production, aligning with the New European Bauhaus values of sustainability, aesthetics, and inclusion. The talk will share early results and discuss collaborative teaching practices and integrating traditional skills with new technologies.

Martin Schwab, University for Arts Linz, Austria
This research explores the integration of robotic systems in art, design, and crafts, focusing on the impact of digital technologies on key stakeholders. The work spans projects of varying scales, emphasizing the importance of incorporating diverse perspectives early in the development process. A central focus of the research is skills development, particularly as robotics technology evolves rapidly. The approach has shifted from asking "what tools are needed?" to considering "what results are desired?" and "what processes are necessary to achieve these goals?"
An innovative approach has been developed to teach interdisciplinary teams about robotics in non-industrial domains. By analysing implementation stories of digital technologies in skilled crafts, the research aims to create a new foundational format for technology application courses. This work examines the socio-technological reconfiguration of crafts through robotic integration, bridging technological innovation with creative disciplines.
Diverse datasets are collected from sources such as societal perceptions, media representations, scientific publications, and trade journals, alongside insights from experts in applied robotics, philosophy, and socio-technology. Using design-fiction methods, the research constructs scenarios for "Crafts & Robots 2030+" narratives, accompanied by philosophical and socio-technological reflections.

Martin Melioranski, Estonian Academy of Arts, Estonia
The assembled endeavours explore the potential of robotic 3D printing in clay for multidisciplinary collaborations on architectural ceramics. This approach has led to various initiatives, including artist residencies, hackathons, symposiums, exhibitions, joint research articles, and curriculum development. The research highlights clay’s versatility as a 3D printing material and addresses ethical implications, such as integrating parametric robotics and AI with sustainable materials. Collaborations between artists, designers, and architects used robotic arms and custom software to refine the robotic-ceramics interface, combining Research-through-Design and artistic methodologies. The Do-It-with-Others (DIWO) approach fostered collaboration and technological progress, showcased in case studies reimagining architectural elements like walls, vaults, cantilevers, and openings.

Hector Velasquez, Aalto University, Finland
Design and design education have always emphasised creative innovation, but the connectivity between people, processes, and methodologies is often overlooked. The 3D printing lab at Aalto University (Arts Infra) is one of Europe's most comprehensive facilities, With over 150 students using it per work period (6 weeks).Students are guided by staff to complete projects, illustrating the interconnectedness of manufacturing methods and human-centered teaching. This presentation shares findings from a practice-based field study that aimed to enhance the 3D printing lab's capabilities, improve other Aalto University labs, and explore Arts Infra's impact on student learning.

Miriam Iorwerth, Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, United Kingdom
Low-latency video conferencing enables artists to collaborate and perform across distances, reducing travel, lowering environmental impact, and increasing accessibility for artists and audiences. Systems like LoLa, conceived in 2005, and the Covid pandemic underscored the accessibility benefits of online collaboration. However, technical challenges persist, requiring institutional support, IT and AV assistance, and appropriate networking infrastructure to ensure technology supports creativity. This presentation explores these challenges and benefits for educators and students, showcasing how the Royal Academy of Music collaborates with network providers Jisc and IT colleagues to balance security with low-latency network needs.

Karina Townsend, The University of East London, School of Arts and Creative Industries, United Kingdom
Technicians can support students by fostering resilience and creating environments where tradition and technology coexist. Presenting her Thames21 commission to sound and music students at UEL and ICMP, Karina Townsend found feedback highlighting her work as "unique" and "inspirational". This underscores the importance of addressing both technical and philosophical aspects in creative practices. Townsend's research, incorporating open-source hardware and scientific devices, offers "supersensory" insights into the natural world, driven by her progressive hearing loss. This intersectional, practice-based approach encourages active engagement with the environment and reappropriation of existing equipment, promoting experimentation and addressing the sensory impact of the fast-paced, intrusive nature of social media.

Vanessa Bakhuizen-van 't Hoogt, Kristel Hunnersen, Josien Niebuur, Minerva Art Academy, Netherlands
Technicians are increasingly recognised for their teaching roles, yet little is documented about their methods. This talk explores technicians’ didactics and introduces “instructional stuff”— teaching materials used in workshops. For example, a technician might use a piece of paper to demonstrate paper grain by having students tear it in different directions. Instructional stuff, which includes tools, samples, and examples of work, plays a vital role in teaching material literacy and workshop ethics. In this talk, presenters share observations and invite participants to discuss their own instructional materials, highlighting their diverse pedagogical uses. This research is part of the Curious Hands Project: https://www.curioushands.nl/

Bert Bogaerts, LUCA School of Arts, Belgium
This project explores how the traditional embossing technique in graphic arts can become more accessible and sustainable. The high cost of Toyobo plates and the waste generated by the current embossing process are significant barriers. The project addresses these issues by using 3D printing with PLA (Polylactic Acid) to produce recyclable embossing plates, creating a circular "closed loop" system. This reduces material costs and environmental impact while offering students greater creative freedom. The team also explores replacing PLA with biopolymers like PHA to further reduce ecological footprints. This approach promotes sustainability and waste reduction in educational settings.

Féilim O'hAoláin, Niek van Remmerden, ArtEZ University of the Arts, Netherlands
This workshop-style lecture explores how the Future Storytelling Lab at ArtEZ University integrates emerging technologies into the theatre and dance curriculum. Over four years, the lab has introduced tools like video mapping, motion capture, and interactive media, blending them with traditional practices for immersive storytelling experiences. Students engage in hands-on making and experimentation, with technologies embedded in both formal courses and extracurricular workshops. A bottom-up collaborative approach with students, teachers and technical staff has provided insights into the challenges of adopting immersive methods. While these efforts have enhanced students' creative and technical skills, the increased demand for advanced technology has strained technical resources and expertise. This presentation will address the challenges of integrating technology into arts education, highlighting both successes and obstacles.

Jakub Hrdina, Tomas Bata University in Zlín, Czech Republic
The Design Depths project, developed by the Industrial Design Studio at Tomas Bata University in Zlín, explores the intersection of creativity, functionality, and advanced technology in industrial design. Building on the ModificAI project, it introduces DeepMDF, a machine learning experiment that uncovers hidden relationships within design and generates speculative concepts. It was presented at Bratislava Design Week 2023, featuring an audiovisual display with data visualisations, physical models, and scaled representations of award-winning designs. The project highlights AI’s potential to enrich the creative process and inspire new ways of thinking about form, function, and interdisciplinary connections in design.

Janis Gailitis, The Art Academy of Latvia, Latvia
As part of the FashionTEX project, the Art Academy of Latvia (AAL) actively contributes to reshaping educational curricula to incorporate innovative concepts and training modules in digital fashion design. AAL collaborates with partners from 11 European countries to bridge the gap between rapidly evolving digital technologies and fashion education. The presentation will highlight the project activities focused on integrating cutting-edge digital techniques, fostering sustainability in design, and equipping students with the skills needed to navigate and lead in the digital transformation of the fashion industry.

K. Paulina Martina, Aldje van Meer, Willem de Kooning Academy, Netherlands
In the evolving creative industries, particularly fashion design, teaching digital literacy is essential for arts education. Digital technologies and creative processes are increasingly intertwined, requiring integration to prepare students for the creative industries. However, challenges such as insufficient knowledge, skills, time, and resources persist. Through the Erasmus+ KA2 project Me_You_Us, presenters researched workflows to enhance digital skills in fashion education, focusing on diversity, inclusion, and sustainability. In collaboration with the University of Ljubljana and Design School Kolding, the Willem de Kooning Academy developed educational modules bridging craft and hybrid digital workflows, fostering interdisciplinary collaboration and innovative prototyping.