This time last year I submitted an abstract to present my research at the DATTA Queensland State Conference. A few weeks later I received an email.
I’d been invited to not just present, but to give the keynote address at the conference dinner! What an absolute honour, to then, a few weeks later, speak to a room full of people who care deeply about Design and Technologies education. I used the opportunity to highlight all the potential of our subject, share my research and enthusiasm, and also say some things I felt need to be said.
The talk drew on my research as well as honest reflections on the state of the field of Design and Technologies education. I spoke about the genuine potential I see in Design and Technologies, but also the concerns I have, particularly around initial teacher education, and the broader confusion around how our subject is perceived.
By this time I had begun collaborating more seriously with Associate Professor Nick Kelly. We had shifted from bouncing shared ideas, to drafting the manuscript for a book.
Nick was there in full support as I delivered my Keynote: Contemporary Research into Design and Technologies Education: Insights, Implications and Future Directions.
Watch the full keynote on my website createed.com.au
Fast forward a year, and I feel so privileged to share that, together with my co-authors, Nick and Vaughan Huck - who bought it to life with her illustrations, our book: Taking Design Seriously in Education comes out through Cambridge University Press in August 2026. We can’t wait to share it with the community.
This year, Nick and I are heading back to the DATTA Queensland Conference, this time to present a session inspired by the book: Why Design is the Most Important Subject in School. I also have two other presentations at the conference, which you can check out in the program below. If you’re in Brisbane on 18–19 June, we’d love to see you there.
If you’re a D&T educator or researcher, please join us at DATTA, or here on Substack. Subscribe to Designerly Schools and send us a note to say hi!