Day 1: Official Launch Ceremony
The first day kicked off with the official launch ceremony at the Ideashop. The event ran from 10:30 am to 5:00 pm, with opening speeches delivered by dignitaries and DFGN representatives from around the world. Kalevi Ekman, Director and Founder of Aalto Design Factory, gave a keynote on what Design Factory is and what it stands for — setting the tone for the days to come.
Representatives from DFGN member institutions also took the stage, with speakers from Swinburne Design Factory in Australia, QDF, and other global partners sharing what the Design Factory concept means in their respective contexts.
Following the speeches, the ceremony moved to the heart of it all — the symbolic breaking of the lock, officially opening the DFK studio to the world. The moment was followed by a gift exchange between the visiting dignitaries, the choosing of a "hugging point" within the space, a toast, and a shared lunch.
After the ceremony, guests were invited on a tour of the newly opened DFK space — the Design Studio — taking in the vibrant, open layout designed to spark creativity and collaboration.
In the afternoon, the DFK Business Collaboration Launch took place at 2 pm. Industry partners gathered to explore how DFK could serve as a bridge between academia and industry. The session centered on the question: *"With no obstacles in place, how could industry and university work together?"* — and participants dove in with energy, filling worksheets and whiteboards with ideas.
After months of preparation, everything came together beautifully. The biggest crowd ever seen in Veritas B gathered, and the energy in the room was unlike anything before. As one of the organizers put it — *"We shouldn't have made it without your help."
Day 2: Design Factory Keys
The second day opened with a Finnish-style DFK Breakfast at 8:30 am, bringing participants together over warm food and informal conversation before the day's program began. From 10 am to noon, the "DF Keys" session featured a lineup of inspiring keynote speakers:
- **Kalevi Ekman** — Director & Founder of Aalto Design Factory, on *What is Design Factory?*
- **Matti Hämäläinen** — Operative Director, Aalto-Tongji Design Factory, Shanghai, on *Why is it important to have fun?*
- **Joona Kurikka** — IdeaSquare @CERN, on *Online collaboration between 7 universities*
- **Peter Tapio** — Global Design Factory Activist, on *From DF Breakfast to Design Factory Global Network Citizen*
- **Hyungji Park** — Dean, Underwood International College, Yonsei, on *Design Factory Korea*
The DFK Development Workshop followed, where participants worked hands-on in the studio to define goals and visions for DFK and craft concrete personal plans. The whiteboards filled with ideas, the tables buzzed with conversation, and the room came alive with the kind of collaborative energy that DFK was built for.
Day 3: A New Chapter Begins
The final day of the Opening Week turned toward the future. Monday morning started with a lecture introducing both Design Factory Korea and the Information and Interaction Design (IID) major to the incoming freshmen — the very first step in DFK's journey as a learning community dedicated to real-world problem solving.
