Dr Camilo Soler Caicedo

Contact

Camilo Soler Caicedo
About
Teaching and learning
Research
Business, knowledge transfer and international

About

I am an experienced anthropologist and educator with a passion for exploring the potential of communication between diverse worldviews to address human challenges, particularly through the arts and design.

I have 13 years of research experience and 5 years of teaching experience, and I have worked in interdisciplinary research projects with large organizations (King's College London, the Goethe Institute, NERC/Loughborough University) and communities (global leading visual artists,indigenous groups in the Amazon, highland Andean farmers, gang members) around the world. I am currently exploring storytelling, design personas/archetypes and abductive reasoning (of the kind found in magic practices) as powerful heuristics for sense-making, practice, and action. I consider that these tools can be used to build bridges between different worldviews, and to create new possibilities for social innovation.

My research experience allows me to contribute to the teaching in the areas of design, social science and critical studies, particularly in the areas of UX design, furniture design, social innovation and research approaches.

Academic responsibilities

Lecturer in Critical and Historical Studies - Furniture Design

Qualifications

  • PhD in Culture, Media and Creative Industries - King's College London
  • MSc in Anthropology and Development - The London School of Economics and Political Science
  • BSc in Anthropology - National University of Colombia

Teaching and learning

I currently teach the modules Materials and Making: Themes in Design History, Critical Issues in Furniture & Product Design: Research & Practice, and Dissertation: Research & Reflection, but I have been involved in the teaching historical and critical approaches applied to other areas such as media, the cultural and creative industries, digital economies, and international relations. 

Undergraduate courses taught

Research

I am currently developing expertise in my field towards the advancement of experience design in combination with social science and critical studies, particularly in the area of user experience design for sustainable futures. In 2021-2022 I was a post-doctoral research associate at the School of Design– Loughborough University, where I devised a methodology based on UX design and Design Personas (re-conceptualised as community personas) to facilitate process of community and future-building in the Colombian Andes. I designed and published an interactive website (https://porelparamo.org/en/future-pathways/) for the dissemination of results.

I am currently expanding my research on the use of arts, design and storytelling for social impact. Hence,  I am currently preparing academic publications on the representation of the Latin American communities in mainstream media and its parallels to the experience of Latin American communities in London with a peer working on Urban Studies and gentrification ; the use UX design and arts-based methods for future-building through digital engagement with colleagues in Design; and – derived from my doctoral research – the book project provisionally titled BIlongo: the Spell of Colombian Salsa on Global Markets.

Areas of specialism

  • Anthropology
  • UX Design
  • Participatory Action Research
  • Critical Studies
  • Cultural Studies

Scholarly affiliations

  • Society for the Anthropology of Lowland South America (SALSA)

Business, knowledge transfer and international

Areas of interest

  • Global South

Social media

Academia LinkedIn