Design School Kolding and the Bevica Foundation strengthen cooperation and allocate a total of DKK 12 million for research and teaching in universal design

Universal design is the design of products and environments that can include and be used by all persons regardless of functional ability. With a grant of DKK 7 million from the Bevica Foundation until 2030 and DKK 5 million in self-funding from Design School Kolding during the same period, universal design will become an even more integral part of the Design School's DNA. All undergraduate and graduate students will encounter universal design in teaching, and research in the field will be strengthened.

“We want to train designers who create solutions for everyone, regardless of functionality. With the new grant, we can further enshrine universal design in both teaching and research, and at the same time inspire a broader societal focus on equal opportunities,” says Carina Christensen, Principal of Design School Kolding.

Universal design is a key concept in the UN Convention on Disability, which Denmark ratified in 2009, and the concept is also a key engine in achieving the transversal principle of Leave No One Behind in the UN Global Goals of 2015. More recently, universal design has also been inscribed as one of the eight central dogmas of the Government's new National Architecture Policy, presented earlier in November by the Minister of Culture, the Minister of Social Affairs and Housing and the Minister of Urban and Rural Affairs.

Building on a good collaboration

The collaboration between Design School Kolding and the Bevica Foundation builds on a strong strategic partnership and course from 2021 to 2025, during which Design School has integrated universal design into teaching, research and developed teaching materials. Universal design has also been entrenched as an important strategic and managerial focus of the school during the period.

In the programme in Industrial Design, students have learned, among other things, how to integrate methods within universal design, work with people with disabilities and explore new ways of understanding and implementing universal design in their projects. The school has also produced a significant amount of research publications for the benefit of designers, researchers and students.

“Design School Kolding has shown how universal design can be integrated into the entire school's work, from teaching to research and to a managerial, strategic level. We are pleased to be able to continue our cooperation. We look forward to further strengthening knowledge and practice and thus jointly contribute to fulfilling our joint commitments under the Convention on Disability and the UN Global Goals,” says Marianne Kofoed, Director of the Bevica Foundation.

The partnership will run until the end of 2030 and will, among other things, contribute to the development of new teaching formats, strengthen cooperation with external actors and create new knowledge about universal design for the benefit of students, researchers and society as a whole.

Fact

• 12 million DKK in the period 2026—2030, including DKK 5 million as the Design School's own funding in the form of research time.
• The purpose of the grant is to strengthen research and teaching in Universal Design at Bachelor's, Master's and PhD levels.
• The partnership builds on a strong collaboration between Design School Kolding and the Bevica Foundation from 2021—2025. read More about the partnership here