Design Engineering for Innovation

Upon completing this Summer School, you will: 

• Gain knowledge of key design tools and creative thinking techniques to support your academic and professional growth.
• Develop strategies for using Design Engineering mindset to tackle global challenges through idea generation.
• Understand the latest research on human factors in design, including applications in specific industries and human-system interaction.
• Acquire skills for academic research, translating ideas into solutions, and emphasising future-oriented design.
• Explore the value of design in AI driven innovation such as immersive audio systems or smart cities.
• Learn about leadership styles and roles, and develop strategies to strengthen your leadership as a future innovator.
• Gain hands-on experience in transforming concepts into prototypes in a guided prototyping environment.
• Experience the full design process—from concept creation to rapid prototyping—by addressing real-world challenges.
• Enhance your ability to communicate and present practical solutions effectively.

The programme will be delivered in a mix of lectures tutorials. Skills introduced in the programme are developed and reinforced through focused studio workshop activities and direct application within the design project. 

The Dyson School of Design Engineering is the 10th and newest engineering department at Imperial College London. It was founded in 2014 and assisted by a generous donation from the James Dyson Foundation.  Design Engineering is the fusion of design thinking, and engineering knowledge and practice within a culture of innovation and enterprise, to help solve global problems with emphasis on sustainability, entrepreneurship and societal impact.

Interdisciplinarity and cross-cutting skills are an integral part of what differentiates the Dyson School of Design Engineering.  Design engineers weave together different disciplines, methods and ways of thinking for a uniquely multifaceted approach to solving complex problems. By being able to think both like engineers and like designers, and by engaging with expertise in mathematics, psychology, policymaking, business, and other fields, our students enter the world uniquely equipped to innovate effectively, lead responsibly, and manage the complexity inherent to product innovation and to tackling major global challenges. 

The students on the Summer School will benefit from the interdisciplinary excellence of research and teaching, the interaction with real-world leaders in design, innovation, and enterprise, as well as practical prototyping capacities offered by the Dyson School of Design Engineering.

60 contact hours spread over two weeks covering lectures, workshops, tutorials, project work, social activities and relevant visit.  Classes will be delivered on weekdays.

Students will be allocated in small groups for project work which will be done through team-based learning with supervision. Final project will be presented in groups to a panel of experts on the last day of the programme. A prize will be awarded to the team with the best project.

The entire programme will be taught in English.

This summer school will equip students with insights on creativity, innovation and design through inspiring lectures and practical workshops.  Students will be introduced with evolutionary, revolutionary and experimental methods for design-led innovation modules such as data-centric, AI in immersive audio design, smart city, etc., which echo their existing training in Engineering domains, and provide further inspiration for innovation.

Design Thinking investigates the evolution of key design processes, their advantages and limits in practice, and propose the integrated and comprehensive design process. Students will benefit from learning about the latest development of research in creativity and innovation methods, as well as a selection of effective techniques to enhance their creativity in personal and professional capacity. In addition, students will gain real-life design experience in a fun and practical approach for team prototyping in a selection of design activities, to enhance their understanding of design thinking and to break down the barriers between theoretical planning and practical achievements.

Students will also be introduced to the latest development of human factors in design research, as well as leadership, innovation and enterprise, with the focus on evolving interactions between innovators and systems. The value of the application of interactive design practice will be investigated through growingly popular domains such as design for wellbeing and fun.

Students, as future innovators, are encouraged to lead the change, but not subject to it. Students are challenged to explore the future impact of their present design activities, and therefore, encouraged to learn and understand the importance of strategies for innovation research and design engineering.

Practical insights are expected to be obtained from the hand-on realisation of design for students in a dedicated prototyping environment with pioneering facilities and techniques. In the Design Engineering ACE workshop, students will have access to mechanical, electronics and digital manufacturing facilities, such as 3-D printing and laser-cutting, with hand-on demonstration and tutoring supports. The creative design ideas will be transformed into realised subjects through guided concept design and fast prototyping.

Students will share their team’s design ideas in a product opportunity pitch during the summer school. All teams will also present their team projects with a concept design accompanied by an early-stage prototype, on the last day of the summer school.