An educational and commercial product design symbiosis: a case study
Year: 2010
Section: INDUSTRIAL CONTEXTS
Editor: Boks W; Ion, W; McMahon, C and Parkinson B
Author: Dyer, Bryce Thomas Jeffrey; Glasspool, Chris; Terry, Simon
Section: INDUSTRIAL CONTEXTS
Pages: 408-413
Abstract
Product design education has been one of the most exciting and vibrant study paths in the last two
decades. It presents students the opportunity to develop their skills and talents to create innovative and
effective product solutions.
However, should a design student wish to obtain greater experience within the university curricula,
their experience could be improved by an engagement with industry during their studies. This in turn
enhances portfolio diversity and employment prospects. Discussed in this paper is a case study
whereby a large scale commercial input to undergraduate students over a two year period allowed
them to create products which were innovative yet highly sensitive to the needs of industry.
The projects also saw students from two different years of academic study engage with each other in a
team working format to enhance the learning experience. By engaging student cohorts from different
levels of study, this created peer assisted learning opportunities.
Any company which chooses to undertake an engagement with a body of design students not only
gains creative input to their organisation but also the ability to help influence and inspire product
design students of the future. This paper demonstrates through discussion of a case study conducted
from 2008 &2009 how an ongoing industrial engagement not only provided the means for a large
scale creative input but also provided a massive peer assisted learning exercise between multiple year
design students. Ultimately, the engaged company, the academic institution and most importantly the
students all gain from this symbiosis.
Keywords: Design, education, industrial partner
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E&PDE 2010: ENGINEERING AND PRODUCT DESIGN EDUCATION 2010
The 12th International Conference on Engineering and Product Design Education will take place 2-3 September 2010, and will be organised by the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) in Trondheim, Norway in partnership with the Design Education Special Interest Group (DESIG) of the Design Society and the Institution of Engineering Designers (IED). The conference in 2010 will address the relationship between design education and design research. This year's conference theme, "When...
