Cross-educating in design, business and engineering: challenges of coherence and relevance

Year: 2009
Editor: Clarke, A, Ion, W, McMahon, C and Hogarth, P
Author: Koria, Mikko; Karjalainen, Toni-Matti; Salimäki, Markku
Section: EDUCATIONAL CULTURES
Page(s): 306-311

Abstract

Industry has shown increasing demand for professionals that are able to successfully operate across disciplinary boundaries, and academia has responded to the call by creating models for inter-, cross-, and multidisciplinary degree courses by integrating different fields of study. However, there are only a few tri-party multidisciplinary programs. This paper examines one such program, the International Design Business Management Program (IDBM), a joint teaching and research program in Helsinki. The program is currently facing an imminent increase in terms of volume and complexity, due to changes in its operational environment. This paper reports on the ongoing process of re-creating the IDBM program to respond to the new challenges through reviewing the coherence and relevance of its offering.

Keywords: Multidisciplinary education, curriculum development, strategic design, systemic thinking