A Design-driven Maker and Learning Space as a Cross-disciplinary Innovation Hub

The academic maker and learning space of the department of product development of the University of Antwerp is in a pilot phase. The concept of this design factory is built around the educational programme for design and product development and the nexus between design research and education. The design factory is conceptualized as a multidisciplinary innovation hub in an academic context to provide students with real-life projects to support their education programme and to make collaborations with research and industrial partners explicit. The department of product development provides both the design expertise and the maker space facilities to support innovative projects.The design factory focuses on three kinds of projects with product development and other students in a cross-disciplinary and collaborative setting. Firstly, projects to support valorisation of research output from the various university research groups, mainly research groups in (bio)medicine, chemistry, engineering, social sciences and economics. The step from research output to validated products or services asks for a thorough design process for which the design factory provides the prototyping facilities and the design and productising expertise.Secondly, pre-incubation projects to facilitate student innovation projects to take the next step towards valorisation. The pre-incubation lab provides a secure setting, the facilities and expert support to bridge the gap between business concept and the application for funding with private or public investors. A third focus is on student collaboration with industrial partners in combination with design and development service providers. This triangular combination provides added value for the three parties involved. The students collaborate in real-life projects and leverage the innovation network between industry and service providers. The entire concept engages the educational programme in the innovation eco-system of the region, leveraging the local innovative capacity and learning while doing so