Academy of Finland funding for Handling Mind research project
12.02.2013
A multidisciplinary research consortium led by Maarit Mäkelä, Professor at the Department of Design of the School of Arts, Design and Architecture, and Pirita Seitamaa-Hakkarainen, Professor of Craft Studies at the University of Helsinki, has received a grant of nearly EUR 1 million for their Handling Mind research project. The grant has been awarded from the Academy of Finland’s Research Programme on the Human Mind.
The multidisciplinary research project deals with body learning linked with creativity and design and the neural mechanisms involved. It combines approaches of neuroscience, psychology, design and education in the study of corporal thinking and creativity. The approaches of the various disciplines link the themes of mind, experience and social interaction, revealing new information about the relations of socio-emotional and corporal learning in the processes of art, craft and design. The goal of the research is to open a new kind of research tradition in neuroscience that targets the processes of art, craft and design.
Only a small amount of neurological research linked with design thinking has been carried out, which gives the research consortium excellent possibilities of reaching world class in the fields neuroscience and design research. The Creative Mind research project creates and tests hypotheses linked with the tasks and activities of different areas of the brain, and studies the processes and learning of skills linked with design activities.
Objective: Results applicable to different areas of research
The study comprises four partial studies which complement each other. They will be used to assess how participation in creative craft and design processes will affect the socio-emotional experiences and neural responses of the participants. In addition, the nature of the related corporal knowledge will be analysed, with a special emphasis on the interaction of the mind, body and materials.
The procedural and theoretical development work that takes place within the framework of research, and the empirical results that are gleaned from it, can be applied further to many areas of research. The results are also expected to promote the development of teaching practices of people of different ages, and to be applicable to service design in the social and health care sector, as well as in therapeutic decisions. It is hoped that the research results will promote more multifaceted design practices and achievements that transcend the boundaries of the environments of today's art and design education and working life.
Further information:
Professor Maarit Mäkelä
maarit.makela [at] aalto [dot] fi