Introduction

Part 2 Educating the interdisciplinary designer

Design needs team players with an ability to exploit the benefits of inte-grated thinking, shared goals and collaborative attitudes. Employers in particular state this need. But how are these attributes to be nurtured? How can a breadth of vision be maintained when early specialization can narrow horizons?

Educators face conflicting pressures. On the one hand is the increasing volume of knowledge germane to each discipline (and needing to be taught); on the other is the need for the breadth of learning that makes communication possible. It is this tension that raises fears of a lack of acuity in the generalist and a lack of integrating skills in the specialist.