Disruption 2013

Welcome from the conference chair

I am delighted to invite you to join the 2013 CEFPI Conference in Auckland. New Zealand is the newest chapter of CEFPI and has a very committed and talented team putting together a conference that will engage you with the newest trends, innovations and discoveries in education, research and design.

Auckland is a very exciting location for a conference with its spectacular waterfront, cultural and arts venues and moderate weather. The social program will offer opportunities to engage with the city and its highlights.

The theme of the Auckland conference is “Disruption”. For New Zealand and our neighbours around the Pacific this is an idea with a double meaning. Natural disasters have been our common and collective experience in recent years. The appalling human cost of earthquakes, floods, fires and tsunamis is acknowledged with huge regret. To honour those who were lost or harmed it is essential that new learning rises from these devastating events. This is an opportunity to drop the non-essential baggage and focus on the core of the educative experience. When facilities have to be refurbished or replaced it is a significant obligation to ensure that the new spaces are better and not a clone of the past.

Disruption is also a concept we can apply without the impetus of disaster. This idea has begun to appear in the education, business and design literature. The task of challenging convention and repetitive practice, looking unflinchingly at existing solutions is ours. To appraise the effectiveness of our space and learning designs, to foster innovation, to reach unexpected and startling outcomes that disrupt entrenched patterns and prevent the domestication of innovation, these are the tasks of this conference.

The conference offers keynote speakers of international repute, site visits to a wide range of innovative facilities, up close engagement with educators, researchers and designers, a range of trade exhibits and the opportunity to mix with local and international colleagues.

Join us for a challenging and exciting experience in Auckland, it will be a pleasure to welcome you to our city.

Helen Anderson
Conference Chair 2013