Education
Doctoral Studies, Environmental Design, University of Calgary
MDes, Industrial Design, University of Alberta
BFA, Design Art, Concordia University
Kerry Harmer is the Maker Studio Specialist and industrial designer. Kerry provides leadership and operational oversight for the Maker Studio, leads program development, interdisciplinary and inter-institutional collaborations as well as strategic and operational development of curricular integration and academic support. Kerry works with faculty to design curricular instruction and develop learning outcomes tied to digital literacies and design thinking across multiple disciplines. Her areas of expertise include design thinking, human-centered design, academic library maker spaces and interdisciplinarity in making and maker-based education.
Professional and Scholarly Interests
• Maker Space Tools, Technologies and Software
• Emerging Technologies
• Maker Spaces in Academic Libraries
• Design Thinking and Human Centred Design
• Creativity
• Innovation
• Product development and industrial design
• Critical design, Conceptual Design, Speculative Design, Design Fiction
• Critical Making
• Sustainable design
• Fashion Design
• Transdisciplinary education
• Experiential and Transformational learning
Selected Publications and Presentations
Harmer, K., Dempsey, E., Kostouros, P. (2021). Building 21st Century Skills Using an Academic Makerspace.
Transformative Dialogues: Teaching and Learning Journal, 14 (2), 13-29.
https://journals.kpu.ca/index.php/td/article/view/1507
Pearl, C.M. & K. Harmer. (2021). Cultivating a Garden for Social Innovation Through Design Thinking. International Social Innovation Research Conference, Milan.
Harmer, K & J. Kaip. (2019). Data Collection in an Academic Library Makerspace: Methods to Define Success and Inform Decision Making. International Symposium on Academic Makerspaces (ISAM). Yale University, CT.
Harmer, K, Bowler, M & Cooper, C. (2019). The Future of Teaching and Learning Spaces. Western Canadian Deans of Arts and Science Conference. Victoria, BC.
Harmer, K. (2018). Fostering Interdisciplinarity in the University Library Makerspace. Convergence, ATLE Conference. Calgary, AB.
Harmer, K. (2018). Launching and Running an Interdisciplinary Academic Makerspace in a University Library: Data from the First Year. International Symposium on Academic Makerspaces (ISAM). Stanford University, CA.
