WHO IS THIS FOR?
This resource has been created to equip our future design engineers with the skills, insights and tools to combine technological innovation with human centred design to deliver more effective and impactful solutions.
Why DOES IT MATTER?
Innovation does not proceed in a linear fashion or at a steady rate. It comes in waves, typically around 60 years apart and we are surfing the crest of a wave right now. In fact, we’ve not seen a concentration of new innovations for around 120 years with AI, Robotics, Machine Learning, Big Data, Genomics, Cloud Computing, Blockchain, Intelligent Materials and Smart Sensors, Advanced Manufacturing and many more transforming our capacity to address the immense challenges we face, create new opportunities and transform lives globally. These exciting new technologies are enabling a revolution in health, education, transportation, energy and the telecommunications sectors, as well as in consumer sectors such as retail, music and media industries can only be successful if they consider the socio-cultural, political, environmental and economic context, and the needs of all of the actors involved.
The pandemic and our response have shown us that we have the capacity to innovate at high velocity. The pandemic has created a portal to a new world and we can walk through that portal dragging our old practices behind us, or we can innovate in new ways, informed by values and creating value.
The challenges we face are systemic and our responses must be too. That means taking into account not only technological systems but also complex socio-cultural and environmental systems. As engineers we need to be empathetic with people and planet and create solutions that deliver value and are shaped by our values too.
HOW CAN YOU BECOME AN Empathetic Engineer?
This free resource has been designed to provide design engineers, especially those just graduating or have recently graduated, with an understanding of the principles, tools and methodologies to become more empathetic and creative engineers. We’ve put together the best tools, methodologies and processes and combined these with case studies and exemplars of how these can be applied. You can also join a community of other Empathetic Engineers and designers using the Miro Boards and online tools.
Contact us to become part of the Empathetic Engineer community and we will introduce you to other members, as well as expertise to help you develop your skills and knowledge.
About the Partners
The Royal Commission for the Exhibition of 1851
The Commission was created by Royal Charter to “increase the means of industrial education and extend the influence of science and art upon productive industry”. It has been awarding fellowships and scholarships since 1891 in science, engineering and more latterly in design. Previous holders of these prestigious awards include 13 Nobel Laureates and many more have gone on to become eminent in their field.
The Royal College of Art and the School of Design
The Royal College of Art (RCA) is the leading institution of Art and Design in the world and the only wholly postgraduate institution of its kind. It has pioneered the combination of engineering and design disciplines for almost 50 years and nearly 40 years ago created a joint course with Imperial College London that awards its graduates with an MSc and an MA. Its School of Design and its research centres have pioneered new models of interdisciplinary innovation and new design disciplines such as Service Design, Intelligent Mobility, Smart Materials and has led the world in Inclusive Design. Its faculty and students work closely with industry and government to apply its pioneering design methods and creative talent to deliver solutions at scale that can have a major systems impact. Many of these solutions have resulted in the creation of new enterprises through the RCA’s award winning business incubator and accelerator, InnovationRCA.
The Empathetic Engineer was created by Dr Nick de Leon who founded the RCA Service Design programme, has an engineering degree and PhD from Imperial College as well as a master’s degree in Industrial Design from the RCA. De Leon is also a member of the Industry and Engineering Committee of the Royal Commission for the 1851 Exhibition, a Fellow of the Royal College of Art and of the Royal Society of Arts.
The University of Cambridge and its Engineering Design Centre
Cambridge Engineering Design Centre (EDC) undertakes fundamental and applied research to generate knowledge that improves the design process. Its work is driven both by intellectual curiosity and industrial collaboration, resulting in understanding, methods and tools that shape design theory and design practice. The EDC engages in knowledge transfer activities through publications, education, training and ongoing engagements with government and other public institutions. More generally, it promotes the value of engineering design in the UK and beyond, and the value of design education and design research.
Its director is Prof John Clarkson who was awarded the Sir Misha Black Medal for Distinguished Services to Design Education in 2019. The Sir Misha Black Medal honours those who have given distinguished services to design education. It was the first, and is the only, international award to do so. He has had a long association with the Royal College of Art and worked with Roger Coleman at the Royal College of Art to rethink mainstream design for the elderly and disabled, leading to the development of an Inclusive Design Toolkit. This has had far reaching impact on design education and the design of products and services around the world. He and his team subsequently developed a Healthcare Design Toolkit to facilitate improvements in practice and this work is both the foundation as well as inspiration for the Empathetic Engineer.
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