Authentic Learning Framework Applied to the Design of an Open-Source Platform for Autism: A Case Study of OpenCometa

Education is an open and living system distributed and shared among all its participants (Østergaard, The designer as agent of community. In: ServDes.2018 Service design and innovation conference, 2018; Ollenburg, Beyond futures: designing futures by educating future designers, 2018; Scupelli et al., The futures of design pedagogy, learning, and education, 2018). For this reason, to ensure the best possible learning capacity, schools and universities should be set up as network organisations at the centre of diversity (Scupelli et al., The futures of design pedagogy, learning, and education, 2018; Meyer and Norman, She Ji 6:13–49 2020). This is especially pertinent in design education, where designers need cross-curricular competencies to effectively manage cultural and disciplinary contexts and interact with diverse stakeholders (Tang et al., Think Skills Creat 37:100696, 2020). By providing an example of the experience of the OpenCometa Platform project, this paper supports the idea of creating a learning environment that promotes inclusion through the direct involvement of users in the design process. OpenCometa is an open-source platform born from the 10-year experience of the COmeta Lab, a meta-design course for a Bachelor in Product Design. OpenCometa is hosting students’ projects co-designed with autistic people and professionals. The platform makes all project assets available by allowing everyone to participate in the design process and customise products (Boisseau et al., Des Sci 4:e3, 2018), which is especially important in the context of autism. This paper emphasises the importance of a holistic and authentic approach when addressing complex issues. Through the case study of the OpenCometa project, this paper reports on a highly professionalised educational pathway that encourages inclusivity.