Cumulus Association

Sustainability Impact Ratings 2026. Cumulus members also congrats!

Find out how your university ranked in the full results tables, and scroll down to see the overall global top 10. The highest ranking leads or shares top spots on five of the individual SDG tables.
While wealthier countries continue to dominate the ratings, the analysis by the Times Higher Education analysis reveals how lower-income nations are starting to narrow the gap with their competitors in sustainability.

The analysis uses carefully calibrated indicators to provide comprehensive and balanced comparisons on sustainability across four broad areas: research, stewardship, outreach and teaching.

University Impact Rankings 2025 | Times Higher Education Discover the top universities for sustainability with the Times Higher Education Impact Rankings 2025, which ranks 2,526 universities from 130 countries or territories based on their progress towards the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

CfP. Design Education Next: Shifting Paradigms. International Design Education Conference, by NID Ahmedabad campus in India 23–25 February 2027.

Themes

Evolving Theories from Design Practice
- Recalibrating design methodologies
- Bridging conceptual frameworks with situated practice
- Practice-based research and knowledge production
- Experimental, interdisciplinary, and process-led approaches
- Innovation through iterative, hands-on engagement
- Entrepreneurship as a form of design practice
- AI and technological transformations

Design Education & Policy Framework
- Learning futures in design
- National Education Policy and systemic shifts
- Moving beyond standardisation toward adaptive and context- sensitive pedagogies
- Competency-based and interdisciplinary learning models
- Integrating indigenous knowledge systems, vernacular practices, and regional diversity into curricula
- Digital, hybrid, and distributed learning environments
- Emerging tools and technologies in pedagogy
- Shifting global systems and orders

Call for Proposals
Abstract submissions: Research papers, practice-led studies, pedagogical experiments
Deadline: 31st July, 2026

NID, since its establishment in the early 1960’s, has consistently remained attentive to changing contexts and emerging realities in order to stay relevant and responsive. We observe that design education has long been shaped by global trends in industrial and social contexts. Today, however, these patterns are shifting, along with the value systems that inform how we design, learn, and engage with the world. Design Education Next brings this transition into focus by creating a platform to critically examine how design education can move from abstraction towards practice, lived experience, and contextually grounded ways of knowing and doing.

The conference invites educators, practitioners, and researchers to rethink design education in relation to socio-cultural contexts, evolving economies, and sustainable futures.

Interested faculty may submit their abstracts on https://forms.gle/fvPCqRSe1pWkYXfL9 and for more details they can visit designeducationnext.nid.edu or get in touch with the organising team on [email protected].

https://www.nid.edu/getNewsevents/shifting-paradigms-design-education-next

SHIFTING PARADIGMS Design Education Next The Design Education: Tradition and Modernity (DETM 2005) conference at NID marked a decisive moment in the evolution of design education in India and the region. Bringing together over 400 participants from 27 countries and more than 50 institutions, it established a global dialogue on the future o...

Bienal Iberoamericana de Diseño! Join.
🌱 📌 2-7 November 2026, Madrid
👉https://bid-dimad.com/

Join Cumulus Dunedin 2026 with the Cumulus PLUS grant!

Cumulus is offering a unique opportunity for researchers, academic and administrative staff a country and/or region of the world typically underrepresented within the Cumulus network to enable to participate with a grant in Cumulus Conference Design at the End of the Earth in Dunedin, New Zealand on 25-27 November 2026.

The applications are due August 15, 2026. Read the call and application guidelines here https://cumulusassociation.org/calls-for-participation/join-cumulus-dunedin-2026-with-cumulus-plus-grant/.

Cumulus Dunedin 2026: Design at the End of the Earth is calling for participation!

Join us at this Cumulus conference at Otago Polytechnic!

Early Bird registration open till August 31st!

CUMULUS Conference 2026
Ōtepoti Dunedin, Aotearoa New Zealand
November 25-27 2026

Humans and our systems are responsible for many troubling relationship with the earth. The themes of this conference propose that hope is to be found within design practices and in approaches towards design education. We encourage conversations that de-centre Western culture from its position of authority, to learn from and listen to voices from the edges, and from the more-than-human.

Join the conversation!

Registration information here https://cumulusdunedin2026.com/registration/.

Call Open: NEB Academy | Skills Infrastructure,
EIT Culture & Creativity invites you to submit proposals for NEB Academy | Skills Infrastructure, designed to develop lifelong learning programmes that support the transformation of the lived environment.

This call focuses on creative, cross-sectoral skills initiatives that embed the New European Bauhaus values of sustainability, inclusivity and aesthetics into scalable educational frameworks.

Selected projects will address skills gaps in the building and lived environment ecosystem by developing practice-based learning offers for professionals, public bodies, education and training providers, and other relevant actors.

The call aims to build on existing assets and initiatives, connect regional ecosystems, and support financially sustainable learning models with long-term transformation potential.

Number of grants: Indicatively 5 to 6 projects, depending on the requested budget of selected proposals.

Reimbursement rate: EIT Culture & Creativity financial support may reimburse up to 100% of the total eligible project costs, subject to the maximum contribution available under this call and the approved project budget. To avoid double funding, costs already funded by other EU programmes or sources cannot be reimbursed under this call.

Who can apply
This call is open to legal entities established in EU Member States and/or Horizon Europe Associated Countries, unless otherwise specified in the call guidelines.

Proposals must be submitted by multi-beneficiary consortia composed of a minimum of three and a maximum of eight independent participants, established in at least two different eligible countries, and including at least: one education provider;
one public authority, public body, municipality, regional or local authority, or other relevant public-sector organisation; and
one private organisation from the lived environment ecosystem.

Eligible applicants may include, among others, higher education institutions, Vocational Education and Training (VET) providers, training organisations, public authorities, municipalities, regional or local authorities, SMEs, companies, sectoral organisations, associations, foundations, NGOs and other relevant organisations active in the building ecosystem, provided that they meet the eligibility requirements set out in the call guidelines.

Scope and topics of the call
The call invites proposals to develop lifelong learning programmes that contribute to transforming the lived environment through creative approaches and practices. Projects must address skills gaps by leveraging existing (NEB) legacy networks and initiatives and establishing financially sustainable, cross-sectoral models that can support regional systemic transformation.

Selected programmes will demonstrate the following list of characteristics:

Skills and learning initiatives: Develop CPD, VET or other lifelong learning formats that respond to the needs of professionals and organisations working in the transformation of the lived environment.

New European Bauhaus values: Embed sustainability, inclusivity and aesthetics into the learning design, delivery model and expected impact.

Target groups: Address relevant target groups and sub-groups identified in the call guidelines, including education and training providers, the building ecosystem, public bodies and decision-makers, and civil society and creative practitioners.

Regional transformation: Build scalable, financially sustainable models that can strengthen local and regional ecosystems and contribute to the consolidation and expansion of the NEB Academy.

Creative contribution: Include creative, artistic or design-led approaches in the development and delivery of the learning activities, in line with the requirements described in the call guidelines.

Learning quality: Define clear learning outcomes, delivery formats, assessment methods and evidence of learner completion to achieve KPIs and comply with EIT reporting requirements.

Application form
The application form will be available from 09/06/2026 until 31/08/2026, 17:00 CEST (Berlin time).

More, to apply;

NEB Academy | Skills Infrastructure Apply by 31 August 2026

Product Design Lecturer
Otago Polytechnic in Dunedin New Zealand

Full Time
Application Closes 28 Jun 2026

Job Vacancies & Recruitment | Otago Polytechnic Job vacancies - recruiting for people like you now. Register your profile and find vacancies that are right for you.

CfP: International Design Education Conference, Design Education Next: Shifting Paradigms, 23–25 February 2027
at the NID Ahmedabad campus in India .

NID, since its establishment in the early 1960’s, has consistently remained attentive to changing contexts and emerging realities in order to stay relevant and responsive. We observe that design education has long been shaped by global trends in industrial and social contexts. Today, however, these patterns are shifting, along with the value systems that inform how we design, learn, and engage with the world. Design Education Next brings this transition into focus by creating a platform to critically examine how design education can move from abstraction towards practice, lived experience, and contextually grounded ways of knowing and doing.

The conference invites educators, practitioners, and researchers to rethink design education in relation to socio-cultural contexts, evolving economies, and sustainable futures.

Interested faculty may submit their abstracts on https://forms.gle/fvPCqRSe1pWkYXfL9 and for more details they can visit designeducationnext.nid.edu or get in touch with the organising team on [email protected].

Planetary Design
Faculty of Art and Design, University of Lapland in Finland welcomes!
26–28 April 2027

Building on two decades of Nordic Design Research Conferences, Nordes 2027 invites the community to Rovaniemi, Finland (Lapland) from April 26–28, 2027, for a pivotal gathering themed ‘Planetary Design.’ This event calls for contributions that prioritise planetary boundaries and life-centred design, placing the needs of all living beings—human and more-than-human—at the forefront.

Planetary design
For design to develop and remain relevant, it is essential to acknowledge planetary and life-centred needs. These needs challenge not only design, but also service production and delivery, and consumption as a whole. Planetary design situates design practice within planetary boundaries and Earth systems. It understands human, technological, social, and ecological processes as deeply interdependent. This approach seeks to contribute to planetary well-being by addressing systemic challenges across spatial, temporal, and socio-material scales, while acknowledging ethical responsibility for more-than-human life and future generations.

Submissions open:
1 August 2026
Full and exploratory paper deadline: 1 September 2026

https://ulapland.fi/en/event/nordes2027/

‘Drawing Dialogues: Calibration and Celebration of Drawing in Design’. 30-31 Oct 2026. At National Institute of Design NID’s Gandhinagar Campus in Gujarat India.

Drawing remains central to design pedagogy across disciplines at NID and this symposium, which will include keynote talks, presentations, panel discussions, and a drawing exhibition, aims to provide a shared platform for educators, practitioners, researchers, and students to engage in dialogue, practice, and critical reflection on the evolving role of drawing—especially in contemporary design education.

Interested faculty members may submit their abstracts (150–200 words) before the 30th June 2026 for presentations and selected abstracts will be invited to present at the symposium.

More details regarding this symposium are available on https://nid.edu/getNewsevents/drawing-dialogues-calibration-and-celebration-of-drawing-in-design and for further assistance the coordinating team of Drawing Dialogues can be contacted on [email protected].