Designing the future - are our University staff up to it?

The reality of design in most organisations is a multi-skilled team-approach with fluid management structures focused around outcomes and the maximisation of company opportunities and profit. Universities on the other hand are often focused around small groups, and commonly individuals, whose objectives are not necessarily commercial or university centred. Academics teach students to work in multi-discipline teams, but do not always practice this approach themselves. The problem of the disparity of the commercial and university environments is seen all the way up to the upper echelons of University administration, where the opportunities to work in multi-university networks with the flow of ideas, staff and resources is often hampered by outmoded administrative practices, fear of liability and loss of status, and lack of clarity of joint venturing, and the global commercial environment. This paper presents some experiences of the author as a Head of School who tried to bring his Industrial Design and Engineering staff together to facilitate collaborative teaching, educational training relevant to a globally networked industrial environment, and enhanced student education focused on the theme of design.