University/Industry-Collaboration: A Practical Model (61924)
Session Chair: Linda White
Friday, January 6, 2023 (10:55)
Session: Session 2
Room: 322B
Presentation Type:Oral Presentation
University/Industry-Collaboration is not new to Industrial Design curricula, however, the contents of the programs are very different. For most collaborations, design students work as a design firm that takes in design problems from sponsors and develops design solutions. During the project, the sponsor may meet with the students once or twice to make sure students are on the right track. At the end of the project, students would present their final solutions. If the design solutions are satisfactory and fulfill the sponsor’s needs, the sponsor may come back for another project. This kind of collaboration is mainly a service/client model. The shortcoming of this model is that the sponsor usually funds the project a lot less than the design fee with a design firm while taking a risk of getting less professional outcomes. At the same time, the design school is competing with design firms having the advantage of a much lower cost. If the student's design quality reaches the expectation of the sponsor, the sponsor would no longer need any design firm, thus brings harm to the design profession. At Auburn, we tried a different approach that focused more on collaborations rather than providing design service. We developed a model that continues over a decade that provides students hands-on experience as well as job opportunities when they graduate from the program. This presentation focuses on a collaboration model that can bring benefits to the design industry while providing practical experience to the students.
Authors:
Tin-Man Lau, Auburn University, United States
About the Presenter(s)
Professor Tin-Man Lau is a University Professor/Principal Lecturer at Auburn University, United States
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