Over that last few decades there has been a significant rise in interest for design-led entrepreneurship and innovation. This has brought about the need to expand on the principles and methods of human-centred design by incorporating knowledge from multiple disciplines, such as management, business, and entrepreneurship studies. This expansion aids designers, engineers, and marketing practitioners who strive to create innovative, meaningful and relevant services, business models and experiences.
More often than not, ventures operate under very limited resources, and practitioners are often required to fulfil several roles. The concept of ‘multidisciplinary teams’ widely spread in this sphere often bears little resonance in these contexts. Designers possess valuable competencies that can have a significant impact on the venture, especially driving user and context-centred strategy and processes for the introduction, legitimization and scaling-up stages. However, engaging with these areas of practice requires skills and capacities that overlap traditional disciplinary roles. In doing so, the boundaries between design and engineering, branding and communications, cultural and behavioural insight, marketing and management strategy are blurred.
As educators in design innovation, how do we explore, define and balance interdisciplinary relationships between design, engineering, management, business and entrepreneurship theories, methods, language and models of education? The purpose of the entrepreneurship in design education track is to discuss methods, models, case studies, research, insights and unexpected knowledge in benefits and limitations of design entrepreneurship education. In particular, the three papers presented in this track demonstrate different approaches to entrepreneurship and design education.
Almost Risking It All
