Design Educators Conference

Where: Wilson School of Design at Kwantlen Polytechnic University, Richmond, BC

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.

If you have any questions, please email the RGD’s Events Coordinator, Youssef Elgaria, at programs@rgd.ca.