ORIGINAL KNOWLEDGE. 9th Les Rencontres de l'EDAR

Les Rencontres de l'EDAR is the annual meeting of the EDAR doctoral program, aimed at sharing the advancement of the ongoing PhD dissertations among the entire EDAR community.

The 9th edition, organized in collaboration with the Institute of Architecture, will be entitled Original Knowledge. During two days we will focus on the ways in which doctoral research meets the criterion of producing original scientific knowledge.

The primary function of scientific research within academic institution is to systematically increase current knowledge. Originality is an essential aptitude of the good scholar, who is able to identify new subjects of investigation, develop innovative forms of inquiry, interweave different disciplines, and disseminate her/his findings through wider channels. More schematically, originality can be based, on the one hand, on methodology (state of the art, nature of the data, survey tools, interdisciplinarity, etc.), and on the other hand on results and/or their operational horizon.
Originality will be addressed in the context of cumulative knowledge, of innovation, or of approaches that update old technical knowledge; moreover, according to EDAR disciplines, it will be framed within the relationship between design and research . The "possibility of originality" will be measured in light of the new challenges and potential of digitalisation.  The socialisation of original knowledge will be questioned too.

 

Format

 

For the 9th edition, the EDAR Committee and the Director of the Institute of Architecture have joint forces to inaugurate a new format, involving actively PhD students and professors. Whereas students will take part with an oral presentation based on their work over the last 12 months, thesis supervisors and co-supervisors will contribute with short talks on the Rencontres' topic.

The dialogue will be structured in the form of thematic sessions alternating with round tables.

Both days will be open to the public; an external keynote speaker will give a lecture.

 

PhD students' registration

 

The course is open to all doctoral students.

It is mandatory for all EDAR doctoral students in their 2nd and 3rd years.

 

Students must register to the course by April 11th, 2025, and submit the title of their contribution to elena.cogatolanza@epfl.ch with a 300-word abstract.

The presentation can be held in English or in French.