February 2008
Design London, a collaborative project between the Royal College of Art (RCA) and Imperial College London, met its new Advisory Board for the first time in late January to discuss and agree the programme for the next five years. Some of the biggest names in the world of international product and service design have announced their support for the new project, under the Advisory Board’s chairman Sir James Dyson.
Sir James explained his expectations for the project: “The Royal College of Art, Imperial College’s Faculty of Engineering and its Tanaka Business School are three wonderful institutions working on an area vital to our country’s economic success. Design London will improve the integration of engineering, business and design technology to maintain
our country’s competitive edge and help it create entrepreneurial opportunities.”
Design London will achieve this through “a new, exciting and relevant programme of teaching, business incubation services and research. It’s one of the most exciting educational proposals I have seen in many years.”
Sir James is joined by experienced designers and business people including Stefano Marzano, CEO of Philips Design; Graham Spittle, IBM Vice President and Chair of the UK Technology Strategy Board; Andrew Hargadon formerly of
Apple and Oliver Stocken, Chairman of Home Retail Group, Deputy Chairman of 3i plc and former Group Finance Director of Barclay plc. Jonathan Kestenbaum, Chief Executive of the National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts, the organisation funding Design London’s interdisciplinary ‘incubator’ is also on the Board.
The Advisory Board provides strategic guidance and advice to the Design London team and also includes Sir George Cox, former Chairman of the Design Council. Sir George’s 2005 report for then Chancellor, Gordon Brown – known as the Cox Review of Creativity in Business – identified the challenges that Design London will strive to tackle.
Well-respected figures from academia are also on the board including Professor Sir Christopher Frayling and Sir Richard Sykes respectively the RCA and Imperial College’s Rectors. Professor Dame Julia Higgins from the College’s Department of Chemical Engineering and Chemical Technology is the
tenth and final member of the Board.
Nick Leon outlined plans for the new teaching programme. Design and Innovation will become core modules for Imperial’s MBA this year, and Design London will offer fellowships to develop the business skills of students and recent graduates of the RCA and Imperial’s Faculty of Engineering. This will
create truly interdisciplinary environment for designers, engineers and MBA students to engage in design-led innovation, transforming creative ideas into potentially high value business ventures.
Design London will soon announce new simulation tools for its students and its commercial partners to prototype complex products and services. Design London’s commercial partners include both public and private sector organisations, especially those seeking to use design and an interdisciplinary approach to improve their performance and deliver innovative products and services.
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