Design project boosts international competitivenes

massey-university

Fri Feb 16 2007 13:00:00 GMT+1300 (New Zealand Daylight Time)

Design project boosts international competitivenes

Friday, 16 February 2007, 9:35 am
Press Release: Massey University

Design project boosts international competitiveness

A Massey University research project focusing on desirable design has been awarded a $1 million grant for a two-year project that will see the University collaborate with manufacturers such as Navman, Macpac, Gallagher Group and Tait Electronics.

Director of Affect, the Centre for Affective Design at the University’s Wellington campus, Dr Anders Warell says the grant will improve capability in research, teaching and consultancy to industry.

“It provides us with new options to engage with industry and make our industrial design programmes more relevant. We aim to integrate affective design concepts into industry’s mindset and processes.”

Affective design is about tailoring products that people bond with emotionally, such as the iPod or VW Beetle.

The project aims at boosting New Zealand manufacturers and designers international competitiveness through focusing on design for desirability. A team headed by Professor Bob Hodgson has been granted $164,132 to develop wellqualified ICT professionals.

This project will identify the knowledge and skills gaps of people who work in engineering and computer science-related roles, but lack formal graduate qualifications.

It aims to design a qualification that will bring their skills up to graduate level. The projects are funded through the Tertiary Education Commission’s Growth and Innovation Pilot Initiatives.

ENDS

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