In this workshop, we will explore new and alternative ways of teaching participatory systems development and design practices at the university level in inter- and multi-disciplinary contexts. We will bring up questions around, and challenges and opportunities of, developing boundary-crossing university education, focusing on PD practices for systems developers and designers.

The workshop will build on our experiences from jointly developing and teaching the interdisciplinary course Work Practice, Design and Development of Software (WPDDS) over the past three years. Depending on the interests of the workshop participants, we will choose and explore a few of the questions raised, comparing experiences and sharing ways of making interdisciplinary teaching of Participatory Design practices work.

Position papers (1-3 pages) on the workshop topic are optional but most welcomed. Position papers received at the latest by November 20th will be made available to all participants a week before the workshop, on a special website.

Preferred limit on participants: 20.

Position papers and workshop summary will be published after the workshop in a Karlskrona/Ronneby University report series on development of educational methods.

Gunnel Andersdotter is a Ph D student at the department of Ethnography at Lund University. Her research concerns the everyday work and life of software designers creating systems for mobile telephone communication.

Betty Bergqvist holds a Bachelor's degree in Computer Science from Växjö University and has worked as a software developer for a telecommunication company before she started teaching at the University of Karlskrona/Ronneby.

Yvonne Dittrich, who has a Ph.D. in Computer Science from Hamburg University, is an assistant professor in the department of Software Engineering and Computer Science. Since April 1997, she has been a senior lecturer within the People, Computers and Work program.

Sara Eriksén, with a Ph.D. in Informatics, is an assistant professor in the department of Human Work Science. Her current research project concerns everyday IT management, i.e. the continual support, design and development of IT in use in public service one-stop shops and on-line public service systems.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

We thank the students of the People, Computers and Work program over the past three years, who, during the second year of their education, with great enthusiasm, creativity and perseverance, have helped us explore this area and design and develop the WPDDS course.