Interdisciplinary Research and Education Agenda
A Design Driven Perspective

edited by Federica Vacca and Tami Warshavski

The volume details the guidelines and elaborates on the salient aspects of IDEA (Inter-Disciplinary Education Agenda), a research project sustained by a grant from the Tenpus UE (2012-2015) program. Its aim is to take advantage of the new integration of thought in Engineering, Design and Business, treating innovation as industrial relations. Global competition has led to a considerable displacement in the distribution of economic power in the world, and the necessity of innovation as a fundamental vehicle for sustainable growth has become evident. In the last few years, businesses have realised that, from a competitive standpoint, the interconnectivity between designer and engineer creativity and innovative business models represent an advantage. Therefore, it is necessary that academic research is attentive to the needs of the industry and of merchants, and promotes new synergies of knowledge. It is within this sphere that IDEA finds it roots.