Master’s thesis; design for sustainable lifestyles

Are you a student on a master’s programme in a design-oriented subject such as industrial design engineering, industrial design, service design, interaction design, product development or similar? Are you about to complete your master thesis project? Curious to explore contemporary and future sustainable lifestyles through design methodology?

Project goals
For this thesis project, we are looking for one or two students who want to explore design aspects of sustainable lifestyles. There is an opportunity to shape the thesis based on your interests and to link the work to one or more ongoing projects in design for sustainable lifestyles at RISE.

In the thesis, you will use design methodology to explore how design solutions can support sustainability in everyday life now or in an imagined future. We expect you to explore the current situation, come up with ideas for possible alternatives to the current situation, create prototypes that embody your ideas and test the prototypes. Our expectation is that your work will provide new perspectives on how design can contribute to sustainability and question both the present and the future. You are welcome to include different perspectives on sustainability in your thesis, such as social sustainability or biodiversity, and take inspiration from other relevant areas of design such as norm creativity, justice or foresight.

Background
At RISE, we run various projects to explore the sustainable everyday life of today and tomorrow. If you wish, your thesis can be linked to ongoing projects at RISE. For example, there are projects that deal with user perspectives on the circular economy, household energy use and household water use. Below are some examples of projects that we currently are involved in.

The project Enough!? which is about design and sufficiency https://www.ri.se/en/what-we-do/projects/enough-exploring-sufficient-and-fair-energy-use-through-design

The project Drop It on reducing water use in households https://www.ri.se/en/what-we-do/projects/effective-decrease-of-water-consumption-in-households

Recommended project activities
We recommend following a design process that first explores the current situation and then proposes some type of change to the current situation. The design process could include, for example, the following activities:

• Analysing relevant previous work and materials
• Exploration of the current situation through e.g. user studies or explorations of the needs of stakeholders
• Idea generation of product and/or service concepts
• Creation of physical and/or digital prototypes
• Testing of prototypes

Description of the unit
The master’s thesis will be carried out at the unit Technologies for Interaction. At Technologies for Interaction, we explore in practice how digital technologies and digitalisation benefit individuals and society at large. At the centre of our work is prototyping to explore ideas, communicate proposals and challenge perceptions. In our projects, we often work with both physical materials and virtual artefacts. We are constantly trying to develop our working methods and adapt to the developments around us and we believe that the thesis will have a natural place in our work.

The unit Technologies for Interaction is located in several places in the country. For this thesis project, we are looking for one or two students who want to work from our office in Norrköping.

Administrative information

• Start: January 2025
• Scope: 30 credits
• Location: Norrköping
• Compensation: 10 000 SEK per student

Requirements
We expect you to have good knowledge of design methodology and English. Knowledge of Swedish is not a requirement for this master’s thesis. We also expect you to have good skills in communicating design concepts with physical or digital tools, in words or images, as well as to prototype design concepts. You are expected to be able to plan, implement and evaluate your work with a high level of autonomy and to take responsibility for the co-operation with your academic supervisor.

We welcome your application!
If this master thesis sounds interesting and you would like to know more before you apply please contact Sara Renström, RISE, sara.renstrom@ri.se.

Applications should include a brief personal letter and a CV. You can also include a brief portfolio. Candidates are encouraged to send in their application as soon as possible but at the latest 10 of December 2024. Suitable applicants will be interviewed as applications are received.

Calls from external recruitment companies and sales persons are kindly declined as we rule under the Public Procurement Act.