April 21, 2014
Ankerson to present at 2014 Kansas Innovation Summit; open to all K-State faculty, staff, students
Kathy Ankerson, department head of interior architecture and product design, is the keynote speaker for the 2014 Kansas Innovation Summit April 25 in Independence, Kan.
The summit is from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at Independence Community College West, 2615 W. Main, Independence, Kan. There is a discount rate for students, faculty and staff registration.
Ankerson will present "Design + Make: Process and Product Intertwined" about the intersection between creativity, design and collaboration in generating competitive advantage. She also will share how she and her colleagues are cultivating skills in tomorrow's designers.
Ankerson's synopsis of the presentation: Design education today must prepare global design citizens who foster synergy, embrace successful collaboration, and recognize interconnectedness; with an awareness of the responsibility of individual and collective actions in personal, social, and environmental arenas; and, with the critical collaborative leadership skills to serve them throughout their careers. In an increasingly complex world, designers today and into the future must possess a variety of abilities and the confidence for an intentionally rigorous pursuit of design quality. We are faced with preparing emerging professionals who are poised to recognize and address challenges in creative ways; who embrace change and are change agents; who are leaders infused with both the confidence that comes from embedded and discovered knowledge as well as the wisdom to apply it; who are prepared and fluent in both traditional and digital processes; and who are passionate proponents of the impact of design. As well, we are preparing learners who will examine, question, explore, articulate, and create; who embrace design thinking in all aspects of life.