Product Design and Entrepreneurship in the UK

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Product Design and Entrepreneurship in the UK

• Paul Johnson
• Academic Team Leader Product Design
• The Nottingham Trent University

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• The presentation will describe ways in which
  design students can realise the potential of
  their own work in a commercial context.
• It will recognise the need to be entrepreneurial
  in all levels of undergraduate and postgraduate
  design education in the United Kingdom, and
  provide case studies of recent work in this area.

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What does industry want?
Risk takers Range of transferable
skills Individuals who can spot product and
market opportunities Design / engineering /
marketing / business / commercial
skills Students with imagination and
creativity Students who can adapt
quickly Students that can respond to
change Students with a Global outlook
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What does industry really want?
Products that sell People that can spot an
opportunity, and develop that design in the
shortest timescale to the highest quality, to the
widest audience
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How do we achieve this?
By creating strong links with industry via
Collaborative projects (national and
international) Live projects Design
competitions Research and Consultancy Close
working relationship with the HIVE business
incubator unit Student placements Foundation
degrees
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In summary.
We must incubate the venture at the very
beginning of the student experience We must
develop strategies and course proposals that
future gaze in new areas of technological and
system design, as shown
Objects
Total Product Design
Systems
Virtual
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At a course level we embed themes of.
Professionalism Initiative and enterprise Risk
taking Commercial awareness via company
involvement in projects Opportunity
Evaluation Business and marketing skills Team
working and creative problem solving Wide
presentation and communication skills
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Provide flexibility and choice.
allow students to consider, design, develop and
initiate a new business venture during their
undergraduate studies Provide students with the
opportunity to experience innovation at first
hand in a commercial context ie sandwich
placements, live projects offer postgraduate
programmes in entrepreneurship, or content which
respects and rewards entrepreneurial
endeavour Offer a matrix model to prospective
students to encourage innovation at the
outset i.e. MA Product Design Futures framework
comprising MSc Advanced Product Design
Engineering / MA Design Entrepreneurship / MA
Product Design / MA Computer Aided Product
Design
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The undergraduate approach
A framework based on subject specific activities
Cross Curricular subject activities students
select modules dependant on pathway, but will
include modules and projects on a range of
business planning, marketing, finance,
enterprise, project management, budgets, life
cycle analysis, costing, problem solving,
environmental projects.
Design Futures Industrial innovation BSc
Design Futures Furniture Product BA
Design futures computer aided BSc
Design Futures Product Design BSc
Design Futures Product Design BA
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We must create a business support climate via
Increasing the number of smes to support the
regional and national economies Marrying
technological with business acumen Pushing the
boundaries of technology today Working
collaboratively with regional bodies Incentivisin
g industries such as telecoms, hardware, New
media etc Increasing the number of knowledge
transfer partnerships
Lord Sainsbury of TurvilleParliamentary
Under-Secretary of State for Science and
InnovationResponsible for Promoting World Class
Science and Innovation
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The environment
Thirsty Thursdays New business
competitions Student enterprise liaison
officer Regular networking events Interdisciplin
ary projects Visiting entrepreneurs and
industrialists Common lectures with other schools
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The results
65 businesses created at NTU since 2002
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The statistics
1 in 3 businesses who applied now successfully
trading 75 enrolment from NTU students 35 of
all applicants from the schools of Art and
Design, and Architecture, Design and the Built
Environment Growth sectors in science,
engineering, art and design, fashion and media
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The support networks
Seed corn funding is available from the
following networks ERDF HEIF 1/2/3 EMDA ESF HIVE
incubator fund
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Case Study 1 multi terrain shoe
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Case Study 2 Scan Thor furniture
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Scan Thor Furniture 2005 manufactured in Poland
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Case Study 3 two person trailer for sports
enthusiasts
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Case Study 4 bicycle storage
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Case Study 5 paraphone and intelligent headset
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Thank you.