Projects 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):
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
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Playing Transitions - Settling and Belonging in School together
Skovbjerg, H. (Primary Chief Investigator (PCI)), Uhre, J. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Sand, A.-L. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Odgaard, A. B. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Bundsgaard, J. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Ødegaard, E. E. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Pedersen, L. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Sumartojo, S. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Grocott, L. H. (Chief Investigator (CI)) & Jones, S. (Chief Investigator (CI))
1/07/24 → 31/12/27
Project: Research
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Advancing Policy Design for Robots in Public Spaces
Mintrom, M. (Primary Chief Investigator (PCI)), Grocott, L. H. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Wyatt, S. (Partner Investigator (PI)) & Sumartojo, S. (Chief Investigator (CI))
Australian Research Council (ARC)
1/03/24 → 28/02/27
Project: Research
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Crafting a pathway towards situated, relational and reparative literacies practices
Bradley, L. (Primary Chief Investigator (PCI)), Grocott, L. H. (Primary Chief Investigator (PCI)), Perry, M. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Ramos, M. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Ptolomey, A. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Medina, C. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Collier, D. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Mena, N. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Rowsell, J. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Zholdoshalieva, R. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Abdulla, S. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Sumartojo, S. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Macleod, G. (Chief Investigator (CI)) & Savig, M. (Chief Investigator (CI))
Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC)
1/01/24 → 31/12/25
Project: Research
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Learning Creates: Tomorrow Party
Grocott, L. H. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Sumartojo, S. (Chief Investigator (CI)) & Jones, S. (Chief Investigator (CI))
Learning Creates Australia Pty Ltd
12/11/24 → 20/12/24
Project: Research
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Canopy: Creative partnerships for policy advocacy in Climate and Health
Sumartojo, S. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Grocott, L. H. (Chief Investigator (CI)) & Jones, S. (Chief Investigator (CI))
18/09/24 → 31/10/24
Project: Research
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Advancing policy design through creative engagement with lived experience: the Tomorrow Party
Mintrom, M., Grocott, L. & Sumartojo, S., 2024, In: Policy Design and Practice. 7, 1, p. 33-47 15 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer-review
Open AccessFile4 Citations (Scopus) -
Contested Colonial Heritage in Melbourne: The Case of John Batman
Edensor, T. & Sumartojo, S., 2024, (Accepted/In press) The Palgrave Encyclopedia of Cultural Heritage and Conflict. Saloul, I. & Baillie, B. (eds.). Living ed. Cham Switzerland: Palgrave Macmillan, 12 p.Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter (Book) › Research › peer-review
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Contingent autonomy: Robotic encounters in an uncertain world
Sumartojo, S., Tian, L., Carreno-Medrano, P., Lundberg, R., Kulic, D. & Mintrom, M., 2024, (Accepted/In press) In: Environment and Planning D: Society and Space. 18 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer-review
Open AccessFile1 Citation (Scopus) -
Policy design, lived experience, and speculative futures
Mintrom, M., Sumartojo, S., Grocott, L., Korsmeyer, H. & Doughty, M., 2024, Proceedings of DRS 2024 Boston. Gray, C. M., Chehade, E. C., Hekkert, P., Forlano, L., Ciuccarelli, P. & Lloyd, P. (eds.). London UK: Design Research Society, 16 p.Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Conference Paper › Other › peer-review
Open AccessFile -
Researching atmospheres: Concepts, configurations, and collaborations
Sumartojo, S., 2024, Consuming Atmospheres: Designing, Experiencing, and Researching Atmospheres in Consumption Spaces. Steadman, C. & Coffin, J. (eds.). Oxon UK: Routledge, p. 159-173 15 p.Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter (Book) › Research › peer-review
1 Citation (Scopus)
Prizes
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2023 Good Design Award, Design Research - Gold Winner: 'City Sensing Data Futures'
Pink, Sarah (Recipient), Vallentine, Bianca (Recipient), Lanzeni, Debora (Recipient), Fridman, Ilya (Recipient), Duque Hurtado, Melisa (Recipient), Sumartojo, Shanti (Recipient) & Lundberg, Robert (Recipient), 8 Sept 2023
Prize: Prize (including medals and awards)
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2024 Good Design Award, Design Research: 'The Tomorrow Party'
Grocott, L. (Recipient), Sumartojo, S. (Recipient), Mintrom, M. (Recipient), Holman Jones, S. (Recipient), Korsmeyer, H. (Recipient) & Doughty, M. (Recipient), Sept 2024
Prize: Prize (including medals and awards)
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2024 Good Design Award, Policy Design - Best in Class: 'The Tomorrow Party'
Grocott, L. (Recipient), Sumartojo, S. (Recipient), Mintrom, M. (Recipient), Holman Jones, S. (Recipient), Korsmeyer, H. (Recipient) & Doughty, M. (Recipient), Sept 2024
Prize: Prize (including medals and awards)
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2024 Good Design Award, Social Impact: 'The Tomorrow Party'
Grocott, L. (Recipient), Sumartojo, S. (Recipient), Mintrom, M. (Recipient), Holman Jones, S. (Recipient), Korsmeyer, H. (Recipient) & Doughty, M. (Recipient), Sept 2024
Prize: Prize (including medals and awards)
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Good Design Australia Award – Design Research: Designing for Social Impact
Grocott, L. H. (Recipient), Sumartojo, S. (Recipient), Geddes, S. (Recipient), Jones, S. (Recipient), Kelly, W. (Recipient) & Barlock, K. (Recipient), 8 Sept 2023
Prize: Prize (including medals and awards)
Activities
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United Nations AI for Good Global Summit
Joanna Batstone (Contributor), Claudia Del Campo Marin (Contributor), Christopher Marsden (Contributor), Shanti Sumartojo (Contributor), Vijay Paul (Contributor), Jesper Kjeldskov (Contributor) & Andrea Collevecchio (Contributor)
4 Jul 2023 → 6 Jul 2023Activity: Community Talks, Presentations, Exhibitions and Events › Public lecture/debate/seminar
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Living with Robots
Sumartojo, S. (Contributor), Pink, S. (Contributor), Kulic, D. (Contributor), Strengers, Y. (Contributor) & Mintrom, M. (Contributor)
2 May 2022Activity: Community Talks, Presentations, Exhibitions and Events › Public event
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Everyday Robots workshop
Shanti Sumartojo (Contributor) & Hannah Korsmeyer (Contributor)
19 May 2022Activity: Community Talks, Presentations, Exhibitions and Events › Public event
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Worlding Play
Grocott, L. H. (Organiser), Sumartojo, S. (Invited speaker), Skovbjerg, H. M. (Keynote/plenary speaker), Manix, R. (Keynote/plenary speaker), Jones, S. (Invited speaker) & Poulsen, M. (Invited speaker)
19 Sept 2022 → 20 Sept 2022Activity: Participating in or organising an event types › Contribution to workshop, seminar, course
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What Next for Robots in Public Space?
Shanti Sumartojo (Contributor)
9 Jun 2021Activity: Community Talks, Presentations, Exhibitions and Events › Public lecture/debate/seminar
Press/Media
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Living River: A Pathway to Revitalise the Citarum River
Prescott, M., Hadfield, P., Sumartojo, S., Lechner, A., Widita, A., Marthanty, D. R., Suwarso, R., Kirana, K. H., Astuti, N., Khikmah, F., Taufik, F. D., Aditya, B., Hakim, R., Oktariani, A. E., Ramirez, D., Wong, T., Holden, J., Maheshwari, T., Jimenez Redal, R., Tanumihardja, D., Raven, R., Ningrum, D., Pratama, M. A., Priadi, C., Ombasta, O., Endyana, C., Hardesty, B. D., Skidmore, M. A., Zurbruegg, C., Sutasurya, D., Rakhman, Y., Ismanto, R., Pasman, R., Marvin, P., Saptarini, I., Bagustantyo, B. & Putri M, A. A.
5/12/23
1 Media contribution
Press/Media: Other
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Australia searches for national identity in the trenches of WWI
27/04/23
1 item of Media coverage
Press/Media: Profile/Interview
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There’s only so much a robot can do
Sumartojo, S., Mintrom, M., Kulic, D., Tian, L., Carreno-Medrano, P. & Lundberg, R.
7/11/22
1 Media contribution
Press/Media: Article/Feature
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IoT: 'Wireless technology helps reinvigorate smart city focus'
Sarah Pink, Bianca Vallentine, Melisa Duque, Ilya Fridman, Debora Lanzeni, Robert Lundberg, Shanti Sumartojo, Lisa Fu, Nicola Hearn & Tegan Kop
4/11/22
1 item of Media coverage
Press/Media: Blogs, Podcasts and Social Media › Blogs
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COUNCIL MAGAZINE: 'New approaches for smart cities public data-gathering'
Sarah Pink, Bianca Vallentine, Melisa Duque Hurtado, Ilya Fridman, Debora Lanzeni, Robert Lundberg, Shanti Sumartojo, Lisa Fu, Nicola Hearn & Tegan Kop
12/09/22
1 item of Media coverage
Press/Media: Article/Feature