Thoughts And Reflections On Rensselaer’s Product Design And Innovation Program (original) (raw)
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Product Design and Innovation (PDI) is a new undergraduate dual degree program at Rensselaer that seeks to educate students for careers in new product invention and development. PDI is a dual major program satisfying the requirements for the Bachelor of Science programs in both Engineering and Science, Technology and Society (STS). PDI prepares students to become innovative designers who can integrate contemporary technologies with changing social contexts for a new generation of advanced product designs. PDI aims to balance the traditional approaches of Architectural/Industrial Design and Engineering Design with the approach of Science and Technology Studies (STS). The backbone of PDI is the sequence of eight design studios, one every semester, that aims to integrate all three dimensions of the program. This paper will describe the PDI program, its goals, how it was formulated, and review experiences we have had in offering the three years of this innovative program. We will discuss how the design studio sequence fits together as well as present results from an outside assessment of the students in the program.
Product design and innovation: evolution of a multidisciplinary curriculum
Successful competition in the global economy is increasingly dependent on new products and services that reveal new business and infrastructure possibilities. New products and services must be regarded not only as commodities in a marketplace, but as social actors constraining or enabling the quality of our life. In recognition of these two perspectives, Product Design and Innovation (PDI) is a three-year old undergraduate dual degree program educating students for new product invention and development. PDI satisfies the requirements for the Bachelor of Science programs in Architecture and Science, Technology and Society (STS); or Mechanical Engineering and STS. Design programs played a lead role as the PDI curricular model for integrated and studio teaching, linking all three dimensions of the programÐthe technical, the aesthetic, and the socialÐwith an emphasis on creativity, the imaginative application of new technologies and materials, and the social and political dimensions through design.
Product Design and Innovation: Evolution of an Interdisciplinary Design Curriculum
2003
Successful competition in the global economy is increasingly dependent on new products and services that reveal new business and infrastructure possibilities. New products and services must be regarded not only as commodities in a marketplace, but as social actors constraining or enabling the quality of our life. In recognition of these two perspectives, Product Design and Innovation (PDI) is a three-year old undergraduate dual degree program educating students for new product invention and development. PDI satisfies the requirements for the Bachelor of Science programs in Architecture and Science, Technology and Society (STS); or Mechanical Engineering and STS. Design programs played a lead role as the PDI curricular model for integrated and studio teaching, linking all three dimensions of the programÐthe technical, the aesthetic, and the socialÐwith an emphasis on creativity, the imaginative application of new technologies and materials, and the social and political dimensions through design.
Innovating a Large Design Education Program at a University of Technology
She Ji: The Journal of Design, Economics, and Innovation
Over the last half century, design education has diversified and developed considerably, in part in the arts academies, and increasingly in universities and vocational technical education. The TU Delft design program was founded in 1969, and has since grown quickly into a large, university-based, technology-aligned set of programs presently housing 2000 students and 100 academic staff. In the 50 years the Delft program changed due to: (1) changes in societal demand (from products, via services, to the systemic level of societal challenges), (2) the maturing of design as an academic discipline between science and engineering, and (3) international developments of the educational system (e.g., the Bologna agreement). In this paper we describe the development of this program within the broader disciplinary context of TU Delft, and how it brought together engineering, social sciences, and business studies in project-based education. We draw lessons from a unique position, made possible by this large scale and positioning next to engineering sciences. This position supported a large pool of in-house expertise; it fostered an intertwining of education, research, and practices in the industrial and wider societal context. And it also posed challenges of making design education work at a large scale.
de Vere, I., Melles, G. & Kapoor, A (2010) Product Design Engineering: Interdisciplinary Pedagogy Integrating Engineering Science With "Designerly Ways". 2nd ConnectED International Conference on Design Education, Sydney, Australia, 2010
Product design and development teams are now multidisciplinary environments which require designers and engineers to collaborate harmoniously. This integrated approach enables new synergies and an extension of service provision, which leads engineering into fresh areas of professional activity but challenges traditional engineering education. The characteristics of product design and development have also changed. There is greater focus on sustainable design, socially responsible design and design for ...
1 Teaching Human-Centered Design Innovation Across Engineering, Humanities and Social Sciences
2014
Tomorrow’s engineers must be able to work effectively in multidisciplinary teams. In response to this challenge, universities are broadening engineering design curricula. This paper describes two educational programs at the University of California, Berkeley, which engage undergraduates from multiple disciplines in design education: 1. {design.}, a student-initiated course on the basic human-centered design process and philosophy; and 2. the Human-Centered Design Course Thread, a certificate program in which students take multiple courses across departments that are thematically linked to human-centered design. We present the organization and management of these programs along with descriptive statistics on student participation. We also explore the impacts these programs have had on participating students ’ multidisciplinary design education, particularly: pursuing design as a career, participating in the multidisciplinary design community, and broadening perspectives of design. I.
Integrating ideas from design disciplines into the STEM curricula
Higher Education Pedagogies
The 'Future of Jobs' report from the World Economic Forum highlights that creativity is one of the most important skills needed by the workforce. One way of enhancing the creativity of students undertaking STEM subjects is by taking inspiration from design disciplines. The product design curriculum has creativity at its heart and follows a product oriented learning strategy, integrating ideas from the humanities and sciences, mixing theory and practice. The curriculum is structured to support multidisciplinary collaboration between students from different courses to bring in new ideas, perspectives and skills. Students are encouraged to explore new ideas, materials and technologies through play and experimentation. Teaching is undertaken in a studio environment rather than a lecture hall, enabling group discussions and practical activities to take place as part of teaching sessions. If ideas from the world of design are integrated into the STEM curricula, perhaps student creativity and engagement will improve? ARTICLE HISTORY
Towards a Truly Interdisciplinary Approach to Product Design Education
2018
The education of new designers and innovators who can develop new product and service interventions to meet society’s challenges in the 21st century is a complex task. Design itself lies at the intersection of technology, art and science [1]. Dublin Institute of Technology (DIT)’s BSc (Hons) Product Design programme was developed to reflect this reality and was uniquely designed to operate across three distinct Colleges (Engineering, Creative Arts and Business) within DIT. Its key objective is to give students a firm grounding in these three areas and to produce graduates capable of understanding and executing all stages of the design process with a distinct focus on producing products and interventions which are technically feasible, consumer appropriate and commercially credible. While still a relatively new programme, it has continued to innovate in both structure [2] [3] and pedagogy [4] [5] [6] to ensure a clear focus on the needs of society and of industry. Students of the pro...