Designing a module in entrepreneurship for product design students

Abstract

Creative problem-solving has been identified as one of the most critical future-proof skillsets we can develop in our society. When educating future designers, entrepreneurship skills are now considered essential; however, designers find it difficult to establish themselves as entrepreneurs. Therefore, graduate designers are increasingly in need of these skills to complement their creative ability. This paper offers information to academic institutions looking to implement entrepreneurship modules in existing design and creative programmes. The paper seeks to understand the entrepreneurship skills required for product design graduates through a case study. Current teaching practice is described, and interviews and co-design sessions with relevant stakeholders are conducted to inform future entrepreneurship education for product design students. From these findings, a module descriptor entitled ‘Entrepreneurship for Designers’ was created for an existing programme and delivered through both practice and theory. This module is intended to provide an understanding of the entrepreneurship process and to offer students the confidence to pursue design-related ventures post-graduation.