MDES INDUSTRIAL DESIGN

The MDes Industrial Design programme is for graduates or professionals with design or engineering backgrounds, who want to broaden and deepen their design and design research thinking.

Industrial Design

Overview

Growth in China will redefine patterns of consumption, production, and cultural appropriation domestically and globally for generations to come. As China-based companies shift to a designed-in-China strategy and international companies seek to design for the Chinese market, there will be a growing number of high profile design opportunities for Industrial Design Masters at a strategic level.

The MDes Industrial Design programme is for graduates or professionals with design or engineering backgrounds, who want to deepen their design and design research thinking. You will develop an appreciation for – and practice transformative approaches towards – design solutions, including products, interaction design and environment systems

During the programme, you will gain specialist knowledge and skills whilst broadening your design practice experience through individual research projects and final prototype development work for exhibition and manufacture.

CSD Accreditation

Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University is the first university in the Chinese mainland to have BEng and MDes Industrial Design programmes officially accredited by the Chartered Society of Designers (CSD), an internationally recognised body for professional designers.

The accreditation provides XJTLU students with free Student Membership of the professional body, which allows them to get better job prospects, to access a large international network of peers and a large amount of resources.

CSD membership allows students to access a much wider network of professional designers working both in industry and academia, and foster their preparedness to the upcoming challenges of their career development.

Why should I study Industrial Design at XJTLU?

  • Benefit from the strong links of the Department of Industrial Design with International Organisations, Universities, Design Studios and Manufacturing Companies.
  • Forge a consistent learning process through the support of the Industrial Design Department Research Labs, directly connected to the three main Design Tracks: Design for Social Innovation / Digital & Interaction Design / Design for Manufacturability.
  • Enjoy a creative and challenging program with a wide range of live design projects with our industry partners, study visits to Europe and design exhibitions and competitions.
  • Earn a prestigious Masters’s Degree as a competitive step towards becoming a fully equipped contemporary designer, ready to work in a variety of design fields.

Details

Knowledge and skills

By the time you graduate from the MDes Industrial Design, you will have:

  • an original creative approach with the ability to develop and explore new design ideas and applications
  • undertaken a final major design project to prepare you for a responsible design studio role within industry, or a project with an academic structure to prepare for doctoral study.
  • strong critical, creative thinking, creative and communication skills.

This MDes course is designed to prepare the next generation of designers, trained in China, by a top-level international cohort of academic staff. Our students will be equipped with a transformative design mindset towards social innovation, sustainability, interaction design and technological development. This course is aimed to forge visionary and contemporary designers through a critical thinking approach and supported by our specialised Research Labs and Industry collaborations.

Vicente Esteban

Programme director

Modules

*Programme modules listed are illustrative only and subject to change.

The university offers a broad range of activities aiming to enrich master students’ theoretical and experiential learning and professional development. Trainings, workshops and seminars, covering varieties of themes and topics, both generic and subject-specific, are often offered at both university and school/department levels. You may also be provided with opportunities to work as a teaching assistant, research assistant, or intern at XJTLU. Depending on the programme, field trips and company visits may be organized, and invited talks may be given by the industrial experts and professionals. Such activities will not only support you in your programme study, but also develop your personal and professional skills and enhance your overall employability.

When it comes to XJTLU's masters life, I feel this place is very free. Our tutors come from different professional backgrounds and different countries. They respect your design, ideas and vision. The academic work and practical activities also help you to enhance your life skills.

Jiamei Guo

Student, MDes Industrial Design

Careers

Graduates from this program are well-prepared for careers as design practitioners and design managers. The program also offers a solid research foundation for graduates wishing to pursue further study in a design-related PhD.

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