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February 12, 2025
# Cafe Talks: Designing the Future, the Future of Design
#### Cafe Talks: Designing the Future, the Future of Design
Designing the Future: Decolonization, Disruption, and the Art of Creating Your Own Seat at the Table
The inaugural DesignMeets Café Talk wasn’t just a conversation; it was a call to action. On a brisk January evening, as Toronto’s streets turned to ice, design minds gathered in the warm embrace of [**Ethica Coffee Roasters**](https://ethicaroasters.com/) for a discussion that was anything but lukewarm. The topic? The future of design education, the dismantling of outdated silos, and the necessity of decolonization. Leading the charge was [**Dr. Lesley-Ann Noel**](https://www.ocadu.ca/academics/explore-faculty/lnoel), the newly minted Dean of Design at [**OCAD University**](https://www.ocadu.ca/), with systems thinker and design strategist [**Michael Dila**](https://www.michaeldila.com/) steering the conversation.
## Other Recent News
[### 2026-27 Call for Funding Proposals for Student Groups that Support Creative Entrepreneurship on Campus
The RBC Centre for Emerging Artists & Designers (CEAD) invites OCAD University student groups with a mandate to support entrepreneurship on campus to apply for funding for student-led initiatives that strengthen and expand the creative entrepreneurship ecosystem at OCAD U. This funding is intended to help student groups create opportunities for entrepreneurship skills development, community building, and revenue-generating activities for students and recent alumni, while reducing barriers to participation for equity-seeking individuals.
November 6, 2026
](/news/2026-27-call-funding-proposals-student-groups-support-creative-entrepreneurship-campus)
[### 2027 Critical Distance Centre for Curators Projections Program Call for Artists
OCAD University’s RBC Centre for Emerging Artists & Designers (CEAD) and Critical Distance Centre for Curators (CDCC) have partnered to co-create CDCC Projections Program Career Launcher. Four (4) to five (5) selected emerging artists will receive $690 to exhibit work in a single channel, projection-based screening program that will be displayed at the CDCC in March 2027.
October 30, 2026
](/news/2027-critical-distance-centre-curators-projections-program-call-artists)
[### Call for Vendors: BAM! Holiday Art Market 2026
OCAD University's RBC Centre for Emerging Artists & Designers (CEAD) is excited to partner again with Wychwood Barns to offer a curated group of OCAD U students and recent alumni the opportunity to share a vendor table at the BAM! Holiday Art Market.
October 26, 2026
](/news/call-vendors-bam-holiday-art-market-2026)
Related Stories
## Related Stories
[### Steps Forward Celebrates Student Creativity and OCAD U's 150-Year Legacy
A new series of student-created murals transforms the iconic Yellow Staircase in celebration of the university's 150th anniversary.
September 18, 2026
](/news/steps-forward-celebrates-student-creativity-and-ocad-us-150-year-legacy)
[### Faculty of Design Used Book Sale
Faculty of Design’s Used Book Sale offered students affordable access to donated art and design books. Date/Time: Wednesday, October 7, 2026, from 10am – 6pm Location: 100 McCaul St. - OCAD University, Lobby, Ground Floor
September 2, 2026
](/news/faculty-design-used-book-sale)
[### Assistant Professor Parantap Bhatt Incorporates AI in his Teaching Methods
With more students experimenting with AI tools and integrating AI into their workflows, OCAD U faculty members are incorporating these tools into studio and classroom settings.
April 14, 2026
](/news/assistant-professor-parantap-bhatt-incorporates-ai-his-teaching-methods)