Assistant Professor , Thomas Jefferson University
Eric Schneider is an assistant professor in the industrial design department of Thomas Jefferson University and President of Phase One Design, an industrial design consulting firm based in Philadelphia. Eric has over 30 years of industrial design consulting experience and has taught at TJU (formerly Philadelphia University) since 2010. He is deeply involved with the school's MSID program and it's materials and manufacturing curriculum.
Panel Discussion: Design Exchange, Crossing Disciplines & Professions
Interdisciplinary collaboration is crucial in the design industry, so why don’t we teach that way more often in higher education? Starting with case studies of two successful collaborations in industrial design education, with occupational therapy and with engineering, we will explore a variety of issues.
How do the various lenses on “users” overlap and complement each other to prepare students for industry success? How do you overcome academic silos to create and maintain an interdisciplinary program? How does the educational experience change? And what foundations of ID education need to change to support these better ways of learning?
Moderator: Keith Instone – Founder, Dexterity User Experience
Panelists:
Industrial Design & Occupational Therapy
Yearly interdisciplinary collaborative projects between industrial design students and occupational therapy at our university began in 1998, making it the longest running interdisciplinary collaboration on-campus. Ongoing continual engagement over the years has provided us with ample opportunity to understand the nature of collaboration as well as repeatedly analyze the numerous ways in which these two distinct disciplines complement and learn from each other.
Collaboration began as an initiative between senior faculty and the head of our Industrial Design department and the head of our Occupational Therapy program. The project was embedded in the Spring Semester in Design 6, our Junior Industrial Design studio and the Assistive Technology Design course which is part of our MS Occupational Therapy (MSOT) program. While we continue to refine the details based on current student needs, the basic structure of the project continues to the present day.
