This interview was recorded on the sidelines of the 2025 Design Research Society Special Interest Group Learn by Design conference, held at the University of Aveiro, as part of the activities of the UNIDCOM research centre.

To know more visit unrelease.unidcom-IADE.pt

In this interview Rodrigo Hernández-Ramírez talks to Juan de la Rosa, a design researcher and educator at the University of Illinois, focusing on participatory design and community engagement. His work explores collaborative processes for shaping public infrastructure and embedding values into design outcomes. He has led projects in Colombia that integrate social innovation and co-creation with local communities. Juan also advocates for inclusive research practices and the recognition of non-traditional outputs in design academia.

In this episode, Juan de la Rosa discusses his participatory design research focused on community engagement and public infrastructure. He reflects on the challenges of co-design, the role of values in design objects, and the importance of building trust across cultural contexts. Juan shares insights from projects in Colombia and explores how teaching and research inform each other. The conversation also touches on language, colonialism, and the evolving nature of design research outputs.