Safe Environments for Innovation: the development of a new multidisciplinary masters programme

In September 2007, three schools at Northumbria University came together in collaboration to create a Masters Programme in Multidisciplinary Design Innovation (MDI). The lead school was the School of Design working together with the School of Computing, Engineering and Information Sciences (CEIS) and the Newcastle Business School (NBS). This innovation was in response to an emerging understanding within the School of Design of the value of ‘Design-Thinking’ as a multi-disciplinary activity (developed and reinforced through a series of under-graduate pilot projects) and the Cox Review of Creativity in Business: building on the UK’s strengths, which was commissioned by the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Gordon Brown, at the time of the 2005 Budget (Cox, 2005). (Design-Thinking is an approach to viewing business and organisational situations from a more interpretative perspective than that of traditional business analysis (Lester et al,1998)) The programme was launched in September 2008

Working at the edges

In this short article, the author explains how approaches to programme philosophy, curriculum structure and assessment design have liberated students to work creatively at the edges of their disciplines where they intersect with others. The article outlines the development of a Masters programme in Multidisciplinary Design Innovation

The labour market participation of Northern Ireland University Students

This paper seeks to examine what factors are associated with student labour force participation in Northern Ireland in both term-time and vacation making use of Quarterly Labour Force Survey data for the period March 1998 to February 1999. The results suggest female students are more likely to work than male students, mature students are less likely to work than non-mature students, Roman Catholic students are less likely to work than non-Roman Catholic students, students living at home are more likely to work than student living away from home and an increase in the actual or predicted wage increases the probability of labour force participation. The author suggests that some of these results are due to the particular nature of the Northern Ireland socio- economic situation while others are likely to be true for the rest of the United Kingdom.education employment Northern Ireland

Safe environments for innovation: developing a new multidisciplinary masters programme

This paper outlines the research and resulting curriculum design activities conducted as a collaborative venture between Northumbria University’s School of Design, School of Computing, Engineering and Information Sciences and Newcastle Business School undertaken in the creation of a new postgraduate programme in Multidisciplinary Design Innovation. With the area of multidisciplinary innovation education practice being comparatively new, the research conducted in support of the programme development was undertaken through a series of industry-linked pilot-study projects conducted with Philips, Hasbro, Lego and Unilever. The key finding from this research was an understanding of the importance of freeing students from different disciplines of the inhibitions that limit creativity in collaborative settings. This paper gives an account of the pilot studies and the associated learning derived from them, the collaborative development of the programme and approaches in curriculum and assessment design adopted in order to create what we call ‘safe environments for innovation’; environments designed to free students of these evident inhibitions

The effect of critical thinking on making the right decisions in the new venture process

The design of a new venture is similar to the engineering design process. With systematic approaches, it is possible to increase foresight and reduce the complexity of the engineering design process. On the other hand, in new venture design, self-efficacy must be maintained to increase resistance to challenging situations by an entrepreneur. Decision making is compelling and risky in both engineering and new venture design processes. During the logical inferences, psychology, unconscious and environmental impacts will affect the decisions made. However, critical thinking has a significant effect on making the right decisions. Self-efficacy and creative confidence are beneficial in making the right decisions and maintaining new venture design processes. In this paper, a critical thinking approach to engineering product development and design processes, applied by Anlam TasarIm Atölyesi, will be explained. The paper will also seek to answer the question, 'How can the right decisions be made by protecting self-efficacy in the face of criticism?' Additionally, the paper will emphasise the relationship between critical thinking, self-efficacy and creative confidence

Railway regulation in 19th Century Britain: the economic rationale and legacy of Gladstone and Chadwick

This paper examines the economic rationale of the ideas of Gladstone & Chadwick on railway regulation and the legacy of their ideas. In 1844 Gladstone proposed and implemented what we would now call price and quantity regulation whereas in 1859 Chadwick proposed competition "for the field", i.e. the establishment of a temporary monopoly or franchise, for a given period. The thinking of Gladstone had been influenced by the classical school of economic thought, most notably J R McCulloch, whilst Chadwick had ideas influenced by his association with Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart Mill. This ideas still impact today; the basic pattern of price and some quantity regulation inaugurated by Gladstone was not abolished until the 1960 Transport Act whilst Chadwicks idea of temporary licenses or franchises came back into vogue when the railways were privatised in 1997.Britain, nineteenth century, railway regulation, classical school, J R McCulloch, Edwin Chadwick, John Stuart Mill

Connecting for Impact - Multidisciplinary Approaches to Innovation in Small to Medium Sized enterprises (SMEs)

This paper reveals the methodology developed and adopted by groups of Multidisciplinary Design Innovation Masters students whilst working on projects with regional Small to Medium Sized Enterprises (SME’s). It exposes an eight-stage approach and shows how the creation of a ‘problem-space tapestry’ acts as a mediator between different disciplinary approaches. The authors used a combination of observation, interview, post project-analysis and auto ethnographic reflection in order to uncover this process and to draw conclusions about the conditions that are necessary to support university based multidisciplinary design-led innovation projects of this type

Hidden value - towards an understanding of the full impact of engaging students in user-led research and innovation projects between universities and companies

‘Live’ projects have been the staple of degree programmes in design for as long as design education has existed. They represent the perfect vehicle through which students can test their evolving knowledge and skills. They provide an ideal constructivist platform through which problem-centred, authentic learning can be achieved and deliver immediate value to student learning. This study explores the value to the other stakeholders in such projects: the Company and the University. A suite of projects undertaken over a ten-year period between a leading Design School and one of the largest Fast Moving Consumer Goods companies in the world has been reviewed. Semi-structured interviews with Company employees and academics have been used to establish the impact of each project, and this data has been mapped against the original objective of each project in order to identify the hidden value of these collaborations. Through this exploration of a decade of University-Company collaborations, the authors identify levels of engagement that go beyond the ‘live project’. The paper illustrates the value of such projects for the ‘client’ organisation, and the academic community, as well as reflecting, briefly, on the student experience

Designing a design thinking approach to HRD

This article considers the value of design thinking as applied to a HRD context, Specifically, it demonstrates how design thinking can be employed through a case study drawn from the GETM3 programme. It reports on the design, development, and delivery of a design thinking workshop which was created to draw out and develop ideas from students and recent graduates about the fundamental training and skills requirements of future employment. While design thinking has been widely deployed in innovation and entrepreneurship, its application to HRD is still very much embryonic. Our overview illustrates how the key characteristics of the design thinking process resonate with those required from HRD (e.g. focus on end user, problem solving, feedback, and innovation). Our contribution stems from illuminating a replicable application of design system thinking including both the process and the outcomes of this application. We conclude that design thinking is likely to serve as a critical mind-set, tool, and strategy to facilitate HRD practitioners and advance HRD practice

Designing a Design Thinking Approach to HRD

This article considers the value of design thinking as applied to a HRD context, Specifically, it demonstrates how design thinking can be employed through a case study drawn from the GETM3 programme. It reports on the design, development, and delivery of a design thinking workshop which was created to draw out and develop ideas from students and recent graduates about the fundamental training and skills requirements of future employment. While design thinking has been widely deployed in innovation and entrepreneurship, its application to HRD is still very much embryonic. Our overview illustrates how the key characteristics of the design thinking process resonate with those required from HRD (e.g. focus on end user, problem solving, feedback, and innovation). Our contribution stems from illuminating a replicable application of design system thinking including both the process and the outcomes of this application. We conclude that design thinking is likely to serve as a critical mind-set, tool, and strategy to facilitate HRD practitioners and advance HRD practice