Teaching
The focus of teaching is on introducing students to methods of reflection and tools for critical and/or theory-based analysis in practical applications. The basis of the teaching approach is to recognise design practices as knowledge practices. In order to convey design sustainability, teaching in this subject area follows the cycle of Perception (recognition) – action – reflection and embeds this in a wide variety of (everyday) practices (e.g. throwing things away) as a benchmark for discussion. In compact seminars and courses, the aim is to make an understanding of sustainability, in the sense of ecological and social responsibility in design, tangible for individual students and transferable to professional practice.

Research
Current research and discussions on SDG topics, particularly from discard studies, socio-ecological research and design theory, form the network in which the department conducts its research. It pursues design research approaches and uses design itself to generate knowledge (research through design).

Research interests include 

• the question of how the design of education (didactics) can meet the requirements of design sustainability and which educational tools and designs can reflect the current problem landscape and provide possible solutions; 
• practice-based design, its theorisation and utilisation in the context of socio-ecological research, especially in the context of consumer research;
• rituals of disappearance in physical and digital environments; and
• design from discard.

Kassel Institute for Sustainability (KIS)
As a member and interdisciplinary field, the subject area, particularly at the Kassel Institute of the University of Kassel, builds a bridge between the humanities and natural sciences in the context of sustainability by offering new ways (methods, perspectives and objects) to approach the problem areas of the SDGs and to generate and interpret findings. In the institute's teaching, the subject area is involved in cross-disciplinary courses (focus on "Critical Sustainability in Art and Design"). In addition, the project "Transformative Teaching and Learning for Sustainability" (TORCH 2025–2031), which develops project-based learning for sustainability, is managed jointly with the core professorship Human-Environment-Interactions from the Department of Sustainable Product Design at KIS.

SDG+ Lab Experimental "Transformations in Work and Economy" (2025–2027)
Together with the Department of Economics of Urban and Regional Development (Prof. Dr. Anna Growe), the department is leading the experimental project in the theme year "Transformations in Work and Economy" of the SDG+ Lab at the University of Kassel. The SDG+ Lab is a laboratory for sustainability issues and a platform for exchange between science, business and society, developed by UniKasselTransfer. The project is funded by the federal-state initiative "Innovative University". The focus of the third theme year is on transformations in production, work and value creation in the city of Kassel and the North Hesse region. A range of decentralised, socially inclusive and alternative approaches to a sustainable and circular economy will be highlighted, brought to life and made accessible to large sections of the population of North Hesse.

BIOLAB
BIOLAB is a working and research environment that offers students at the Kunsthochschule Kassel and the University of Kassel the opportunity to engage creatively, artistically and scientifically with living organisms, primarily fungal cultures. BIOLAB focuses on the interface between design and biology. Under the direction of the Department of Sustainable Product Design and Development and in collaboration with partners from its growing network, it offers transdisciplinary teaching and learning events as well as a platform for professional exchange. Workshops and lectures are held, and practice-oriented projects can also be carried out directly in the lab by arrangement.

The BIOLAB at the Kunsthochschule Kassel is the initiator and member of the network and the dgtf special interest group "Biolabs at Art and Design Academies".

Student assistant BIOLAB: Alisa Röring