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Creating Prosperity: the role of higher educationin driving the UK’s creative economy224.20 The fundamental issue here is that innovation in the creative economy is problem-focused ratherthan subject-focused, suggesting a need for a more flexible approach within higher education.4.21 The Design London partnership between the Royal College of Art and Imperial College Londonis based on the principle that innovation is inherently multidisciplinary and on the understandingthat research, teaching and knowledge exchange are mutually supportive and mutually dependentactivities. It is also another clear sign of the growth in collaborative working across STEM, creativityand business skills.4.22 Design London combines different elements of education, research and knowledge transfer withbroad industry engagement and collaboration with a range of partners.4.23 Like many other initiatives, Design London was originally supported by the HEIF. Research showsthat HEIF has been critically important in developing knowledge transfer activities in English HEIsgenerally and among creative arts and design institutions in particular.4.24 A recent report noted that creative arts and design institutions have been, ‘taking advantage of therapid increase in scale and profile of the creative industries in the UK, particularly in London. Thisis generating consultancy and contract research opportunities in addition to the more traditionalopportunities in courses and CPD etc. A number of the larger arts HEIs are also funding newopportunities in the intersection between technology and the creative arts through collaborationswith other HEIs.’ (PACEC and CBR, 2010, p 63).p The vehicle design department at the Royal College of Art is theworld’s leading centre for vehicle design education and research.4.0 Higher education’s contribution
Creating Prosperity: the role of higher educationin driving the UK’s creative economy234.25 Our consultations confirmed the crucial role played by HEIF funding in supporting knowledgeexchange with the creative economy, and underlined the importance of maintaining this sourceof funding. HEIF was seen as a very welcome mechanism for supporting wider, more innovativeknowledge transfer activity. There was, however, some concern about the increasing emphasis placedon science-based metrics in the assessment of knowledge exchange favouring, for example, licensingand commercialisation measures over those that capture more collaborative models. The implicationis that there will be future pressure on funding for university activities that do not align well withthese measurement and assessment criteria.5. CASE STUDYDesign LondonDesign London is a partnership betweenthe Royal College of Art (RCA) and theengineering and business faculties atImperial College London. Design London issupported by the Higher Education FundingCouncil for England (HEFCE), NESTA and theLondon Development Agency, and offers anintegrated portfolio of teaching, research andenterprise activities for students, graduatesand industry partners, with multidisciplinaryinnovation as the core focus.The project has four linked areas of activity– simulator, teaching, incubation andresearch (STIR).Simulator – Innovation Technology CentreStudents and business partners of RCAand Imperial have access to the InnovationTechnology (IvT) Centre, which is hometo world-leading design, visualisation,modelling and rapid prototyping technology.This can help Design London’s studentsand partners to develop their innovationcapacity via simulation exercises, digitaltools and facilitation.TeachingDesign London’s teaching promotesknowledge interchange between MA, MEngand MBA students from the RCA and Imperial.It is open to industry and institutionalpartners seeking to transform the skillsof professionals, managers and seniorexecutives. More than 250 MBA studentsfrom Imperial College Business School and80 engineers and MA design students fromthe RCA have successfully completed courseson design-led innovation, service designand design management.IncubatorEntrepreneurial graduates, initially fromRCA and Imperial, are given the opportunity todevelop new ideas in the Incubator, a dynamicmultidisciplinary environment for businessdevelopment which supports unique orunexpected collaborations between differentdisciplines, organisations and places.ResearchDesign London’s research programmeexplores how design can be more effectivelyintegrated with business and technology tocreate world-beating products and services.4.26 To this we might add the challenges arising from changes in the economic development infrastructurein England. Regional Development Agencies (RDAs) have also been important funders of researchand knowledge transfer projects in the creative economy (and for many of our case studies), and thissource of funding may no longer be available. Similar pressures on enterprise funding in the devolvednations may have parallel effects. It is also worth noting that the RDAs, through the contributionof Single Programme and European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) funding, have brought anemphasis on the industry perspective and economic outcomes. For higher education projects, thiswill have brought focus on economic impacts.4.0 Higher education’s contribution
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