WHAT IS THE PRACTICE IN USE-INSPIRED RESEARCH IN DESIGN, FILM AND ART? Founded in 2017, SwissGradNet is a network of four Swiss universities of applied sciences and its foreign university partners who follow the objective to foster use-inspired PhD projects in the fields of design, film and art. For its inaugural conference, the core question to be discussed shall be what position the fields of design, film and art can adopt towards the concept of use-inspired (basic) research. Taking a stand on the proposed definition, researchers, PhD candidates and higher education professionals will present best practice projects and elaborate on institutional frameworks as well as strategic matters in the context of use-inspired research.