Us

The International Academy for Design and Health (IADH) is a non-profit organization with an inter-disciplinary network dedicated to the stimulation and application of research concerning the interaction between design, health, science and culture.

Founded by scientists at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm in 1997, IADH provides a highly visible international forum for promoting an ongoing global exchange of research findings among scientists, designers, and industry.

Design and Health: current activities and existing services

The current strategy of Design and Health, working in close partnership with our network of leading universities and commercial practice-based organisations, is five-pronged around the following areas, each delivering a range of products and services:

Education and training

- International Master Program on Design and Health: Aims to educate and train future leaders from interdisciplinary backgrounds.

- Executive Education: Management and professional education and training programmes for industry leaders, developed in partnership with leading international professional bodies, trade organisations and other relevant institutes.      

 Research and science

- Research initiatives and scientific programmes: Aims to fund and promote interdisciplinary research into the built environment and its relationship to human health, wellbeing and quality of life, partnering with business, the public sector and government to produce world class researchers that can bridge the gap between art and science, and research and practice in the field of design and health.

 Events, conferences and exhibitions

- Design and Health World Congress and Exhibition: Organised biannually, the Academy is targeting more than 1,000 delegates and 100 exhibitors at the 6^th World Congress on Design and Health in Singapore, 24-28 June 2009.

- Design Quality Standards International: Organised pan-regionally, these conferences and seminars underpin the Academy’s advocacy work in the area of accreditation and standards development.

 Advocacy, Awards and Accreditation

- Design Quality Standards (DQS) International Review Panel: The panel aims to provide national jurisdictions, government ministries and other authorities responsible for improving public health with an external panel of global experts with whom they can engage in an international forum to benchmark and inform their own guidelines, accreditation, tender or competition requirements

- International Academy Awards Programme for Design and Health: The Design and Health International Academy Awards Programme is an important global benchmarking tool that recognises excellence and rewards the achievements of architects, designers, health providers, researchers and community and industry leaders.

 - Government relations and public affairs: The Academy facilitates governmental exchanges, arranging conference and seminar meetings and site visits between national jurisdictions, in addition to working on the development of campaigns to politically lobby authorities on the value of research based design and other issues in the built environment.

-  Media and press relations: The Academy is developing a journalistic resource to place articles in international media and arrange speaker opportunities for network members.

 Media and publishing

- World Health Design (WHD) magazine: WHD aims to be the leading international journal on Design and Health, disseminating knowledge and information about the research and practice of design and health to a continuously growing database of more than 60 000 readers around the world, thereby extending knowledge of the value of psychosocially supportive design in the promotion of human health and wellbeing.

- Online media, information: and networking: The Academy aims to develop a web-based infrastructure that underpins and integrates its business management with its product and network development. Central to this ambition will be a professional, research and business networking platform that will help academics, students, researchers, business leaders, scientists, policy makers and organisations to develop new initiatives and share knowledge, ideas, research and information about common goals. The development of this site will allow the Academy’s network of interdisciplinary stakeholders to work across time, space and geographic boundaries to shape design and health development in international communities.

- Book publishing: The Academy has published and marketed various internationally acclaimed titles concerned with both research and practice in the field of design and health on behalf of its network.