A WORKSHOP SUPPORTING CREATIVITY IN DISTRIBUTED DESIGN EDUCATION

The practice of distributed design is gradually being adopted by leading organisations which view this approach to the new product development (NPD) process as an opportunity to achieve competitive advantage. A large body of work exists on distributed design teams. However, there is still relatively little research literature that deals specifically with distributed design creativity. This represents an interesting challenge for Institutions of Higher Education (IHE) involved in design education. If we are to meet the future needs of industry and adequately prepare graduates for the challenge of a global digital workspace, greater support for creativity in virtual design teams (VDTs) needs to be achieved. Therefore, the aim of this workshop is to expand existing knowledge in this area by taking advantage of the international experience of workshop participants in global design. In this workshop the inhibitors and enablers associated with creativity will be explored with the key purpose of identifying the means to overcome them and move towards the creation of guidelines to support and maximise the impact of distributed design education efforts. The workshop will involve a short presentation, attendee participation, small group discussions, mapping activities and feedback opportunities. It is anticipated that parts of the workshop will be recorded. This information will be analysed and used to support further research which will be disseminated in a paper publication