Design Creativity
Location: TBD
Session Chair: Patrick Palmer
Speakers:
Patrick Palmer
Mehrdad Moallem
David Newman
Abstract
There are many assumptions and theories about team working and creativity in design engineering. In many cases, the team is assembled rather than chosen, with team members selected due to their differing expertise or roles. The range of expertise needed is often presupposed, based on working towards a predetermined outcome, such as a new vessel, a new cell phone, etc. Creativity is typically assumed to reside in a few ‘special’ people. However, in this workshop, we will demonstrate that we all have creative problem-solving abilities, which are best nurtured and deployed in a well-managed team environment, harnessing diverse elements of expertise, viewpoints, cognitive styles, and motivation. This interactive workshop will include presentations, video clips, short competitions, hands-on exploration of ideas, and process ‘take-aways’ for team-based creative intelligence.
Schedule
| Title | Presenter(s) | Comment | Media | Take‑aways |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Welcome | DN | |||
| Why do cruise ships steer using a joystick? | DN / TBD | When we think of steering a fast boats or a ship, we imagine the “wheel”. Yet recent cruise ships and Americas Cup boats now have multiple steering “stands” which use joysticks, as they have become “fly‑by‑wire” with multiple controllers involved. | Videos, photos (America’s Cup wheels, new joysticks) | Creativity in a complex system—solves the real problem |
| ‘LEGO Serious Play’ as a Process | DN | This session builds on LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY® (LSP) open‑source guideline made available by the LEGO® Group under a Creative Commons licence. LSP can be used as a tool to engage deeper thinking and story‑telling in design teams to explore a problem or question creatively. | Audience participation | Story‑telling; metaphor; hand–mind link |
| Coffee Break | ||||
| Working in Teams | PP / DN | Team working is often frustrating, dull and prone to delays and personality clashes, leading to limited success in the final outcome, which is often an incremental evolution of a previous solution. Successful team working is marked by psychological safety, a structured process, full engagement from team members and a clear shared understanding. | Basketball & soccer videos | Teams need aims + processes |
| Sharing experiences of Teams | PP / DN | Facilitated discussion: in many cases the team is assembled rather than chosen, with team members selected due to their differing expertise or roles. Discussion of “team” realities. | Sticky notes, boards, LEGO | Teamwork needs improvement |
| Lunch Break | ||||
| SFU Mech Design II | MM / PP | Engineering Design in Teams in SFU’s Mechatronics Degree Program. The “ball throwing” exercise encompasses mechanics and dynamics, control theory, electronic sensors, where many aspects have to be considered together. Performed in teams, this apparently simple exercise becomes a challenge to even the most accomplished team. | Matlab videos & prototype performance | Handling constraints & time pressure |
| Engineering Design Processes | PP / DN | The preferred process adopted by the University of Cambridge Engineering Dept. will be compared to LSP methodology and the gaps in the conventional engineering design process will become clear and remedies will be suggested. | PPT & student‑competition videos | Psychological safety must be “built‑in” |
| Tea Break | ||||
| Faster, Better, Clearer | PP / DN / MM | Reflection and facilitated discussion on how to improve the typical engineer’s experience of the design process. | Sticky notes (learning outcomes) | Change process → change outcome |
Speaker Biographies
Patrick Palmer
Simon Fraser University
Patrick Palmer was faculty in engineering in the University of Cambridge, UK for over 30 years, with a short stint at UBC. He was part of the Engineering Design Centre (EDC) with funded research into engineering design optimisation, particularly focussed on submarines and ice breakers. He was involved with the Undergraduate Integrated Design Project (IDP) for over 20 years, eventually becoming Leader. The IDP was a team based design challenge, with around 300 students each year in groups of 5-6. At SFU since 2019, he is part of the small team teaching the Mechatronics Design II project, along with Prof. Moalem. This is a team based project and since Prof. Palmer became involved, it now follows similar principles as the Cambridge IDP. Prof Palmer also founded three companies, raising $10m, based on innovative patented products and has published over 150 peer reviewed papers. He is currently writing a book with Dr David Newman.
Mehrdad Moallem
Simon Fraser University
Mehrdad Moallem obtained his Ph.D. degree in electrical and computer engineering from Concordia University, Montreal, QC, Canada, in 1997.,From 1997 to 2007, he held research and faculty positions at Concordia University, Montreal, Canada; Duke University, Durham, NC, USA; and the University of Western Ontario, London, ON, Canada. Since 2007, he has been with the School of Mechatronic Systems Engineering, Simon Fraser University, BC, Canada, where he holds the rank of full Professor in the Faculty of Applied Sciences. His current research interests include control applications in power electronics, energy conversion, smart sensors and actuators, and robotics. He has authored or coauthored extensively in the aforementioned areas with four technical books and over 150 technical papers.
David Newman
University of British Columbia
David has a PhD in Communication from Simon Fraser University, a Master of Fine Arts in Theatre and Film from Ohio University, and a Master of Arts (Applied) focusing on Cultural Policy from Victoria University of Wellington. He is teaching creativity and creative intelligence at the University of British Columbia, and has taught at a number of other universities in Canada, USA, Vietnam, and Hong Kong. He is a Certified Pro Trainer of facilitators in the LEGO® Serious Play® method, training facilitators and educators in Asia and North America. He has been using LSP in his teaching at both UBC and the Solvay Business School,Vietnam.