BSc (Honours) PRODUCT DESIGN and INNOVATION

BSc (Honours) PRODUCT DESIGN and INNOVATION

BSc (Honours) PRODUCT DESIGN and INNOVATION The BSc (Honours) degree in Product Design & Innovation (PDI) is an engaging and in-depth technological design and product development course. It provides a holistic education of knowledge and skills relating to user and market research, product design, creativity, business, enterprise, technology and mass production. The course is based in the department of Design, Manufacture and Engineering Management (DMEM) with specialist modules in entrepreneurship taught by the University s Hunter Centre for Entrepreneurship. Our PDI graduates have the potential to engage with exciting opportunities after graduation. We have PDI graduates: working as product designers for highly prestigious design companies such as Apple and Dyson; going on to further study at prestigious European design schools such as Northumbria and Milan; winning sought-after design awards such as the RSA Student Design Award. Overview of Course Years 1 and 2 provide the principle knowledge and skills for engaging in creative technological design and innovative product development. This involves a range of individual and teambased learning experiences through studiobased creative design projects, technical lab-based learning and academic studies in engineering principles, management and entrepreneurship. Year 3 involves specialist classes on cutting-edge practices, methods and tools that reflect the innovative and diverse nature of modern product design and

Course Structure Year 1 Your first year provides principle knowledge and skills in product design, technology, production, management and entrepreneurship as a foundation for future years. In Design 1 you will experience live, creative, practice-based design projects. In Integrating Studies 1 you will start to learn about manual, machine and digital fabrication processes. In Introduction to Production Engineering and Management you will gain key knowledge of the modern practices of management and mass production. development. Here, PDI students focus on exciting and engaging topics such as interaction design, product styling, high-tech manufacturing and organisational innovation. Year 4 is where PDI students develop their specialist individual career interests and engage in intensive and real world design projects. This might involve developing your own ground-breaking patentable invention or collaborating with a local product development company to see your creative work being adopted in live commercial practice. The Technology Concepts module is specifically designed for PDI students and is concerned with how to apply mechanical, thermal, fluid and electrical energy principles to the design of technological products. All this, with a Hunter Centre module in entrepreneurship, completes the first-year experience. Year 2 Your second year builds on the broad range of subjects experienced in first year. Design 2 involves working on another practice-based project where you develop a more detailed consideration of aesthetics, human factors, materials and mechanical analysis.

Production Techniques 1, Integrating Studies 2 and Design and Manufacturing Management provide a solid underpinning of technical skills and management knowledge relating to product development and mass production. Design Prototyping is another module specifically designed for PDI students, concerned with hands-on prototyping techniques for user-centred design projects. Year 3 Your third year involves three specialist product design modules and two modules focused on product development and mass production. Design, Emotion and Experience is concerned with cutting-edge approaches to user-centered design and draws on ideas of experience design, branding and design for cultural contexts. Design Interaction is also focused on cutting-edge user-centered design practices as well as interface design, interaction design, ergonomics and product styling. Integrating Studies 3 is a technical design project with a focus on physical and digital prototyping. Product Development and Production Techniques 2 involve learning a wide variety of management and mass production methods, processes and techniques. A choice of an optional module in innovation and management, completes the third year curriculum. Year 4 In your final year, you take the lead in defining your own projects, developing your specialist career interests and bringing together your learning from Years 1 to 3. The lead project is your Individual Design Project and many students use this as a springboard for their career, through developing design portfolios or patentable inventions, which spur the emergence of new real world products and business ventures. The real world edge to fourth year is also enhanced significantly through the Product Development Partnership which involves a team of students acting as consultants to local industrial clients. This module reflects DMEM s excellent industrial network and strong partnerships with local and global industry. I chose Strathclyde because of its excellent reputation. The variety of subjects in the course are all related and the practical elements are enjoyable. Teamwork is a major part of the course and is also a good way of making friends. Robert Anderson, PDI graduate

Advanced Design Methods and Advanced Product Design and Manufacture also involve cutting-edge, industry-relevant, product design and development methods, with a range of specialist topics on sustainable design, inclusive design, design for manufacture, design analysis and digital design and production. The final year is the most intensive and challenging year, yet also the most rewarding and stimulating learning experience. Teaching and Assessment Teaching is a blend of lectures, tutorials, labs and studio-based workshops. Groupwork develops skills essential to careers in industry. A digital library allows you to save and share work and other information with your fellow students and lecturers. This facility is useful for coordinating team projects. Guest lectures are a regular feature of the course. These are often conducted by DMEM alumni who share with current students how they have put their knowledge and learning from the course into practice in industry. Most classes are assessed by both exam and coursework (sometimes known as continual assessment or assignments). Given the importance of teamwork, some classes are assessed by group presentations and in others an individual presentation, or critique, is the method of assessment. By using a variety of assessment methods, all of the knowledge and skills you have acquired can be tested. Your final mark for a class may be a combination of a presentation, coursework and an exam. However, some classes are assessed solely by exam or solely by coursework. In the case of exams, past papers are usually available as a guide to what to expect. Departmental Features DMEM encourages students to participate in exchange programmes, which provide the opportunity to study at a university abroad in countries such as Sweden, the Netherlands, Canada, the USA and New Zealand. Our strong industrial links mean that a large number of companies are keen to work with our students on the Product Development Project. These links are also apparent in industrial placement opportunities for our students. A Placements Coordinator provides support and assistance for those who wish to undertake a non-compulsory but very valuable industrial placement. Students often find that they are offered a permanent post with their industrial placement organisation after graduating. The Department has one of the UK s only digital design suites which combines virtual and physical design and prototyping. The course is accredited by the Institution of Engineering Designers.

Contact To arrange a visit or if you have specific enquiries about the course, please contact: Caroline McGuire Admissions Officer t: 0141 548 2839 e: ug@dmem.strath.ac.uk Find out more... visit the University website at www.strath.ac.uk Careers The PDI course equips students to work in a wide range of professional research, design, technology and management roles within local and global product development companies. It also provides an excellent broad-based undergraduate foundation to pursue postgraduate studies in specialist areas of product design, business or management. DMEM graduates work for local Scottish companies and global brands such as Apple, Dyson, PA Consulting, Rolls-Royce and Jaguar. the place of useful learning www.strath.ac.uk University of Strathclyde Glasgow G1 1XQ Information current at August 2014. Please consult the University website for the most up-to-date information. The University of Strathclyde is a charitable body, registered in Scotland, with registration number SC015263.