This document describes a partnership between Purdue University and Beijing Normal University to establish dual degree programs in user experience (UX) design. It discusses the timeline of establishing the partnership from initial conversations in 2017 to welcoming the first dual degree student in 2020. Interviews with students and faculty from both programs revealed cultural differences that impact the educational experience, such as expectations of instructor roles and communication styles. Differences were also found in industry partnerships, course structures, and career expectations between the two programs. The partnership aims to advance cross-cultural UX education and identify opportunities to decolonize and pluralize HCI knowledge and practices.
Cross-Cultural UX Pedagogy: A China–US Partnership
1. Cross-Cultural UX Pedagogy:
A China–US Partnership
Ziqing Li1, Colin M. Gray1,2,Austin L.Toombs1,2,
Kevin McDonald1, Lukas Marinovic1, & Wei Liu2,1
1Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana, USA
2Beijing Normal University, Beijing, P.R.China
2. 2018
SUMMER ‘17
Conversations
about a dual
degree
FALL‘17
BNU & Purdue
signed an MOU to
begin the process
SPRING ‘18
Purdue visited
BNU to formalize
the curriculum
SPRING ‘19
Purdue approved
the dual degree
arrangement
SPRING ‘20
Purdue welcomed
the
fi
rst dual
degree student
4. OUR CONTRIBUTION
Depict two recently
implemented
programs with a
focus on UX
education
Identify
characteristics of
pedagogical
experiences across
dimensions
Demonstrate the
complexity of
international design
education
partnerships
O
ff
er a program-level
view of UX
educational structure
Envision innovation
opportunities in
design and UX
education
5. METHODS | PROGRAM CONTEXTS
Beijing Normal University
MAP UX Program
Founded in 2015
65 student cohort
Purdue University
BS and MS UX Programs
Founded in 2015
15 student cohort
Envisioning Undergraduate UX
Education in the United States
Creating the First Graduate
UX Presence in China
6. Interview Study
Goal: Describing the pedagogical experience, cultural expectations and norms, societal
positioning of the programs, and educational outcomes from the perspective of the students
Approach: Critical interview
Sample: 7 student participants; 2 faculty from Purdue UX; 1 faculty from BNUX
METHODS | DATA COLLECTION
7. METHODS | DATA COLLECTION
Studio Pedagogy
Aesthetic Learning Experience
Comparative Education
Sensitizing Concepts Identi
fi
ed Themes
Impact of Culture on Experience
Interaction with Industry Partners
Program and Course Expectations
Potential Job Roles
Re
fl
exive Thematic Analysis Approach (Braun & Clarke, 2019)
8. FINDING | STUDENT EXPERIENCE IN CROSS-CULTURAL UX EDUCATION
Impact of Culture on Experience
High and low power
distance cultures
Expectations
based on
instructor role
Communication styles
in collaborative working
The nature of
work-life balance
and work ethic
9. BNUX Industry Partnership PUX Industry Partnership
“working”
leadership and team work
“business perspectives”
“learning”
“win-win” vertically-integrated course
experiences
Interaction with Industry Partners
FINDING | STUDENT EXPERIENCE IN CROSS-CULTURAL UX EDUCATION
10. Program and Course Expectations
Light focus on
visual design
Applied
psychology
roots
Integrated studio
sequence
Consecutive
course sequence
taught by core
UX faculty
Courses taught
by design
professionals
International
partnerships
FINDING | STUDENT EXPERIENCE IN CROSS-CULTURAL UX EDUCATION
Purdue UX
BNUX
Collaborative
industry
projects
11. Program career outcomes
Di
ff
ering industry exceptions of “UX Design” “UX Research” “Product
Manager” in the two di
ff
erent cultural contexts
FINDING | STUDENT EXPERIENCE IN CROSS-CULTURAL UX EDUCATION
Potential Job Roles
12. IMPLICATIONS AND FUTURE WORK
Opportunities for
educational
partnerships
Recognize culturally
and locally bounded
student experience,
and the role of
subverting or extending
institutional support
Decolonize HCI
and design
Identify the cultural
boundedness and
situatedness of HCI
knowledge,
instructional
strategies, and
pedagogical
philosophies.
Pluralistic HCI and
UX practices
Further investigate
both the role and
value of local and
indigenous
pedagogies
13. Cross-Cultural UX Pedagogy:
A China–US Partnership
Ziqing Li1, Colin M. Gray1,2,Austin L.Toombs1,2,
Kevin McDonald1, Lukas Marinovic1, & Wei Liu2,1
1Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana, USA
2Beijing Normal University, Beijing, P.R.China