Managing Effective Industry Knowledge Transfer within a Higher Education Context

DS 74: Proceedings of the 14th International Conference on Engineering & Product Design Education (E&PDE12) Design Education for Future Wellbeing, Antwerp, Belguim, 06-07.9.2012

Year: 2012
Editor: Lyndon Buck, Geert Frateur, William Ion, Chris McMahon, Chris Baelus, Guido De Grande, Stijn Verwulgen
Author: Ford, Peter; Davies, Philippa
Series: E&PDE
Institution: De Montfort University, United Kingdom
Section: Design Education and Industry
Page(s): 684-689
ISBN: 978-1-904670-36-0

Abstract

Effective knowledge transfer is essential in ensuring the successful development of products, but is the role of the different actors in this process clear? During the past 20 years De Montfort University (DMU) has supported in excess of 100 companies in the design and development of new products. Case study material has been produced to support undergraduate and postgraduate teaching, placements for students have been established and a number of Knowledge Transfer Partnerships (KTP) have been initiated and completed. Activities with Small and Medium sized Enterprises (SMEs), Large Enterprises (LEs), design consultancies and KTPs, all in the Higher Education context, have provided DMU with considerable and multifaceted experiences relating to knowledge transfer in product design and new product development in both the public and private sectors. Based on these experiences this paper considers the nature of and the difficulties in ensuring effective knowledge transfer in the product design and new product development discipline, in a higher education context. This paper investigates knowledge transfer environments that support academics in gaining experience and providing design students and professionals with access to information from which to generate innovation. This paper explores the nature and importance of relationship building in the management of knowledge environments to enable effective knowledge transfer and uses a case study to illustrate this activity within the Higher Education Institution (HEI) context.

Keywords: Knowledge transfer, KTP, product design, knowledge creation, knowledge environment

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