Margarita Köhl

My journey has taken me to intruiging places and fields of studies. I have started it at the University of Vienna, where I gained my Master’s degree in Communication Studies, Japanese Studies and Art History. During my undergraduate studies, I spent one year in Japan as a joint study scholar. Fascinated by Japanese everyday culture, arts and the fascination with technology and play I developed an interest in the interrelationship between science, technology and society. This was also the starting point for my activity in the fields of transdisciplinary research, arts and cultural management and curatorship. It was the time when I realized that scientific investigation was a means to uncover inequalities and imbalances in society and that design can be a tool for inciting transformation. Asia had me under its spell for the next couple of years, where I worked as a researcher and lecturer at Silpakorn University, Thailand, National Kaohsiung University of Science and Technology, Taiwan and Dokkyo Daigaku, Japan. Parallely, I was also working as a radio journalist for Ö1/ ORF in the field of science and technology. I gained a PhD in Communication Studies (University of Vienna) and and Master of Advanced Studies in Arts & Cultural Management. My research is situated at the intersection of design, science and technology studies with a focus on affective and emotional aspects of technology appropriation and critical design. Currently, I am head of the Department of Design at the University of Applied Sciences Vorarlberg, Austria.