Beyond R&D: What Design Adds to a Modern Research University
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Author(s)
Magee, Christopher L.
Leong, Pey Kin
Jin, Chen
Luo, Jianxi
Frey, Daniel
Date Issued
March 2012
Journal
International Journal of Engineering Education
Publisher
TEMPUS Publications
Citation
Magee, Christopher L. et al. "Beyond R&D: What Design adds to a Modern Research University." International Journal of Engineering Education, 28:2 (2012)
Version
Author's final manuscript
Abstract
The government of Singapore is launching a new university, the Singapore University
of Technology and Design (SUTD), that is scheduled to take in its first freshman class in
April, 2012. SUTD, in collaboration with MIT and Zhejiang University, is striving to
establish a 21st century innovation paradigm that recognizes the synergy between
innovation and design. Many aspects of such an exciting development are of interest to
engineering educators and particularly to design educators and two are covered in this
paper.
One challenge addressed in this paper is the possibility for conflicting agendas between
design‐centric education and the goal of becoming a leading research‐intensive
university. An overview of research intended to address this conflict –that of the
International Design Center that is jointly part of MIT and SUTD‐ is given. It is argued
that, rather than conflicting, design‐centric education and research‐intensity are
synergistic for a 21st century university. The second challenge discussed in some depth
is the setting of “culture” for the new institution that encourages bold attempts to
improve the world through technical innovation (“innovation culture”) with breadth in
national cultures (“global culture”) bridging from Western to Asian perspectives.
Relative to the latter item, a central feature are the “Eastern Cultural” curriculum items
being developed by a second SUTD partner university ‐ Zhejiang University
(Hangzhou, China). The breadth of national cultures and a wide academic disciplinary
base as part of the education process are postulated to be enablers for developing a
strong 21st century innovation‐leadership‐culture for the modern research university.
MIT Department
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Mechanical Engineering
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Engineering Systems Division
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