A Griffith University degree combining design and engineering aims to produce a new breed of graduate ready to meet the demands of an emerging global market.
Based at the Gold Coast campus and hosted by the School of Engineering in partnership with the Queensland College of Art, the Bachelor of Industrial Design brings design and engineering together through a shared approach to learning.
QCA 3D Design Convenor Dr Jennifer Loy says rapid development in industrial design practices over the past few years has meant objects are not only being redesigned but completely rethought.
“3D printing, where objects can be made individually without the upfront costs of conventional manufacturing, is creating a shift from mass production to mass customisation,” she says.
“This means we can create objects specific to each person or situation, changing practice and demand, the relationship we have to products that surround us, and our ideas of what may be possible.
Griffith’s Bachelor of Industrial Design combines a creative engineering approach with design innovation, advanced technology and complex 3D computer modelling skills right from day one.”
Head of the School of Engineering, Professor Geoff Tansley, says the degree responds to designing in a global work environment with the connectivity of the Internet enabling new partnerships and markets.
“Designing for the future means changed relationships with customers via the Internet, greater flexibility and control over production and rethinking making and distribution,” he says.
“This degree combines user design based on empathy and innovation, advanced 3D computer modelling skills, hands-on learning through making, rigorous engineering principles and digital making.”
Graduates will understand ‘both sides of the equation’ being able to apply sound engineering principles whilst creating useful and desirable products.
At the end of the three-year degree graduates will be eligible for an honours year or to choose a further two years of study to become an accredited engineer.
The Bachelor of Industrial Design will be offered from Semester 1, 2014. For more information visit griffith.edu.au/industrial-
3D printing is used in many different applications including fashion. QCA student Sam Canning designed this artistic piece.
