Design Educators Conference

Join educators from across Canada and beyond to discuss the challenges facing design educators, students and our industry as a whole.

The RGD invites design educators and researchers from across the country to attend our annual Design Educators Conference, which will be held on May 28 in Richmond, BC.

Organized by the RGD in partnership with Wilson School of Design at Kwantlen Polytechnic University, the 2026 conference theme is Field Trip, inviting reflection on the ways design education ventures beyond familiar terrains to engage with new contexts of learning.

Field trips are about curiosity, mobility and encountering the unexpected. In what ways might excursions—whether literal or metaphorical—generate new knowledge? What discoveries are inspiring our practice and transforming the ways we teach and understand design?

The conference coincides with DesignThinkers 2026 in Vancouver, which takes place at the Vancouver Playhouse on May 26 and 27.

Keynote speakers for the conference:

• Keynote by Nu Goteh

Nu is a designer, strategist and educator who envisions conditions for communities to thrive. A recipient of the 2025 National Design Award (Emerging Designer), Nu is the Co-Founder, Managing Partner and Creative Director of Deem Journal and the Founder and Principal of ROOM FOR MAGIC. Nu is at the forefront of an emerging generation of designers who integrate design, culture, art, community and social practice. He has partnered with clients that include nonprofits such as the Art for Justice Fund, the Ford Foundation and the World Peace Foundation; cultural institutions such as the National Memorial for the Underground Railroad; and global brands like Nike and Google. His work has been featured in Forbes, Fast Company, Wallpaper, Design Miami, Monocle, and The Architect’s Newspaper. Influenced by his Liberian heritage and passion for counter-culture, he presents keynotes globally on design as an invitation for communities to reclaim their futures. Nu will also be speaking at DesignThinkers Vancouver.

• Keynote by Elaine Lopez

Elaine is a Cuban-American designer, researcher and educator whose work explores the intersections of cultural identity, print culture and socially engaged design. She is an Assistant Professor of Communication Design at Parsons School of Design at The New School, where she teaches Thesis, Riso printing and typography. Across her research, teaching and professional practice, Elaone approaches design as a relational act—one that can foster dialogue, cultivate care and challenge dominant narratives.