VIRTUAL: Applying Education
Abstract
Urban planners, architects, urban designers, geographers, sociologists, urban economists, and other students collaborate on synthesising a panoply of academic and professional information to address emerging urban complexities, which cannot be achieved within the confined disciplinary silos. In response to such challenges, the University of Helsinki and Aalto University in Finland have launched in 2018 the Urban Studies and Planning (USP), a joint master programme to prepare graduates of different academic backgrounds in coping with wicked urban problems. This paper addresses the following questions: (1) how can interdisciplinary education be organised while considering the learner’s own disciplinary requirements? and (2) how can learning outcomes and pedagogical practices be improved through responding to the feedback of learners? This paper first summarises current literature on interdisciplinary education, then conducts a case study, which examines the teaching methods applied in two studios attended by all USP students as mandatory programme requirements. Through semi-structured interviews with both students and educators, the paper measures their experiential learning and teaching respectively. Based on the findings, the paper discusses didactical aspects that may help educators to improve their interdisciplinary teaching in the context of diverse academic backgrounds. The findings demonstrate the dominance of visual communication; thus, the superior performance of architecture students among their classmates. The paper has no premise to assess the past five years of the programme, but rather to initiate a self-learning process.
Dr. Hossam Hewidy is a University Lecturer, Department of Architecture at Aalto University. He is the involved in teaching, supervision and research on urban and regional planning. He is the head of the MA program. Hewidy’s research focuses on Planning Policy, Multiculturalism, Urban Space, Knowledge co-production, Regional Planning, Resilience, and Planning Education (pedagogy & curriculum development). Prior to joining Aalto, Hewidy has had a long experience in the architectural and planning profession. He has participated in projects of upgrading the informal housing areas of Cairo.
Dr. Christine Mady is Senior Lecturer at Aalto University, Department of Architecture involved in the Urban Studies and Planning programme. Prior to joining Aalto, she was Associate Professor in architecture, urban design, and urban planning at the Notre Dame University-Louaize. She is a member of UK Research and Innovation, International Development Peer Review College, and a certified Project Management Professional. Her research focuses on public spaces in contexts of instability, and understanding their role in social integration, cohesion and inclusion, urban resilience, and explores various aspects and categories of public spaces including marketplaces, alternative spaces, co-designed spaces, and also mobility.
11:00 am - 12:30 pm
Friday 28th April, 2023