Shanti Sumartojo

Assoc Professor

Accepting PhD Students

20132024

Research activity per year

Personal profile

Biography

I am a design researcher grounded in cultural geography, leading creative and collaborative work that investigates the how people experience the spaces, design and technology of their everyday lives. To support the value of experiential knowledge, I develop new concepts and creative and ethnographic methodologies in projects applied to diverse contexts. This includes collaborating on design engagement activities with global social impact partners that motivate real-world change by imagining hopeful futures and identifying how to reach them.

 

With a strong commitment to interdisciplinary scholarship, I am an author of 100+ publications, investigating a wide range of topics: robot geographies, commemorative sites and events, national identity, lighting design, design ethnographic methodologies and affective-digital entanglements in public space. I have won $3m+ in researching funding from universities and national research councils in Australia, Denmark and the UK, philanthropic foundations Wellcome Trust and Humanity United, and private industry partners. Through research projects with the public and cultural sector, I have contributed to public space design in my home city of Melbourne. I am a co-creator of The Tomorrow Party, an award-winning workshop for imagining hopeful futures and building commitment for change, that has been used at major international gatherings, including COP28 and New York Climate Week, to build collective agency for transformative action. I welcome inquiries from potential PhD students.

Expertise related to UN Sustainable Development Goals

In 2015, UN member states agreed to 17 global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure prosperity for all. This person’s work contributes towards the following SDG(s):

  • SDG 3 - Good Health and Well-being
  • SDG 11 - Sustainable Cities and Communities
  • SDG 16 - Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions

Education/Academic qualification

Sociology, PhD, Australian National University (ANU)

Award Date: 15 Jun 2011

Nationalism Studies, MSc, University of Edinburgh

Award Date: 1 Sept 1996

Sociology/Anthropology, BA, Carleton College

Award Date: 1 Jun 1992

Research area keywords

  • Atmospheres
  • Technology
  • Public Space
  • Design
  • Design Ethnography
  • Commemoration

Collaborations and top research areas from the last five years

Recent external collaboration on country/territory level. Dive into details by clicking on the dots or