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Transforming Perspectives: Fostering Cross-Cultural and Transdisciplinary Competencies through Industry Engagement in a Short-Term Study Tour

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The term 'design’ has come to represent many things but is often associated with a 'style driven’ industry. However, the subject areas of design (e.g. industrial design, fashion design, interior design, architecture, landscape architecture, visual communication design and interaction design) have come to deal more with solving complex social and technological problems than simply applying 'style’ to a known entity (Irwin, 2015). A designer in this contemporary context requires a skill set that will enable them to identify meaningful problems, frame them within appropriate contexts, and design a solution (Irwin, 2015). This chapter discusses the initial vision, program design and overall purpose of an ‘Immersive Asia Short Term Study Tour’ and how it has evolved into a sustainable pillar for design students during their degree where they are exposed to transdisciplinary learning in an international context. In the tour, students engage with a culture that is significantly different to their own and as such increase their knowledge not only of world-leading design in the Asia-pacific region through direct interaction with industry partners, but particularly with different ways of thinking, new approaches and aesthetics. Through interaction with a range of design practitioners and students from multiple design disciplines, it encourages them to consider how different disciplines interact and how transdisciplinary exchanges can create new and innovative solutions. Ultimately students are encouraged to ‘get out of their comfort zone’ and through interactions with educators, students, and designers in this region, they are able to create rich new networks that will enable potential for ongoing collaborations and future career opportunities. It is hoped that by providing an overview of the aims, strategy and approach and an understanding of post tour student perceptions, that the importance of integrating these types of learning experiences in a design program can be achieved.

Irwin, Terry (2017) “Redesigning a Design Program: How Carnegie Mellon University Is Developing a Design Curricula for the 21st Century - The Solutions Journal.” Accessed 21 July 2021. https://www.thesolutionsjournal.com/article/redesigning-a-design-program-how-carnegie-mellon-university-is-developing-a-design-curricula-for-the-21st-century/.

Keywords: Cross-cultural exchange ; Design Innovation ; Design Practice ; Design Study Tours ; Professional Experience

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Transforming Perspectives: Fostering Cross-Cultural and Transdisciplinary Competencies through Industry Engagement in a Short-Term Study Tour
Intellect , 179 (2023); https://doi.org/10.1386/9781789388671_9
/content/books/9781789388671.c08
/content/books/9781789388671.c08
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References

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References

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  2. Australian Department of Defence ( 2013), Australia in the Asian Century, Canberra:: Australian Government;, https://www.defence.gov.au/whitepaper/2013/docs/australia_in_the_asian_century_white_paper.pdf. Accessed 23 July 2021.
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  3. Breta, Tracey,, and van der Veen, Robert. ( 2015;), ‘ Pushing the boundaries: Participant motivation and self-reported benefits of short-term international study tours. ’, Innovations in Education and Teaching International, 54:3, pp. 175–83, https://doi.org/10.1080/14703297.2015.1118397.
     [Google Scholar]
  4. Chang, Oliva. ( 2016;), ‘ The biggest cultural differences between companies in Australia and Asia, according to an Asia Pacific executive. ’, Pedestrian Group, https://www.thechainsaw.com/this-intuit-exec-shares-the-5-biggest-cultural-differences-when-doing-business-in-australia-and-asia-2016-4. Accessed 26 May 2022.
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  5. Crismond, David,, and Adams, Robin S.. ( 2012;), ‘ The informed design teaching and learning matrix. ’, Journal of Engineering Education, 101:4, pp. 738–97.
     [Google Scholar]
  6. Cross, Nigel. ( 2011), Design Thinking: Understanding How Designers Think, Oxford:: Berg Publishers;.
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  7. Dym, Clive L.,, Agogino, Alice M.,, Eris, Ozgur,, Frey, Daniel D.,, and Leifer, Larry J.. ( 2005;), ‘ Engineering design thinking, teaching, and learning. ’, Journal of Engineering Education, 94:1, pp. 103–20.
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  8. Ellinghaus, Katherine,, Spinks, Jennifer,, Moore, Glenn,, Hetherington, Paul,, and Atherton, Cassandra. ( 2019;), ‘ Learning to teach in the field: Five professors tell how running an overseas study tour improved their classroom teaching. ’, Frontiers: The Interdisciplinary Journal of Study Abroad, 31:1, pp. 169–89, https://doi.org/10.36366/frontiers.v31i1.448.202
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  9. Hatchuel, Armand,, and Weil, Benoit. ( 2003), ‘ A new approach of innovative design: An introduction to C-K theory. ’, in R. Sternberg, and L. Zhang. (eds), Proceedings of the International Conference on Engineering Design, Stockholm, 19–21 August, Scotland:: Citeseer;, pp. 109–10.
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  10. Irwin, Terry. ( 2017;), ‘ Redesigning a design program: How Carnegie Mellon University is developing a design curricula for the 21st century. ’, Solutions: For a sustainable and desirable future, 22 February, https://www.thesolutionsjournal.com/article/redesigning-a-design-program-how-carnegie-mellon-university-is-developing-a-design-curricula-for-the-21st-century/. Accessed 21 July 2021.
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  12. Lee, Young S.,, and Schottenfeld, Matthew. ( 2012;), ‘ Internationalizing experiential learning for sustainable development education. ’, Journal of Education for Sustainable Development, 6, pp. 341–54.
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  13. Lipsett, Anthea. ( 2008;), ‘ Graduates who have studied abroad more appealing to businesses. ’, The Guardian Online, 16 October, https://www.theguardian.com/education/2008/oct/16/students-highereducation. Accessed 21 July 2021.
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  14. Merriam Webster Online Dictionary ( 2021), Springfield: Merriam Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/design. Accessed 20 July 2021.
  15. Miao, Shin Yu,, and Harris, Roger. ( 2012;), ‘ Learning and personality on study trips abroad, research in post-compulsory education. ’, Research in Post-Compulsory Education, 17:4, pp. 435–52.
     [Google Scholar]
  16. O'Leary, Jane. ( 2015), Leading in the Asian Century: A National Scorecard of Australia's Workforce Asia Capability, Sydney:: Diversity Council Australia Limited;, https://www.dca.org.au/sites/default/files/dca_a-cap_synopsis_online.pdf. Accessed 15 May 2021.
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  17. Perry, Lane,, Stoner, Lee,, and Tarrant, Michael. ( 2012;), ‘ More than a vacation: Short-term study abroad as a critically reflective, transformative learning experience. ’, Creative Education, 3, pp. 679–83, https://doi.org/10.4236/ce.2012.35101.
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  18. Pitman, Tim,, Broomhall, Sue,, McEwan, Joanne,, and Majocha, Elzbieta. ( 2010;), ‘ Adult learning in educational tourism. ’, Australian Journal of Adult Learning, 50, pp. 119–238.
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  19. Queensland University of Technology ( 2021), ‘Tomorrow, today’, 4 August, https://www.qut.edu.au/about/real-world. Accessed 21 July 2021.
  20. Roholt, Ross VeLure,, and Fisher, Colleen. ( 2013;), ‘ Expect the unexpected: International short-term study course pedagogies and practices. ’, Journal of Social Work Education, 49:1, pp. 48–65, https://doi.org/10.1080/10437797.2013.755416.
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  21. Scharoun, Lisa. ( 2015;), ‘ Short term study tours as driver for increasing domestic student mobility in order to generate global work-ready students and cultural exchange in Asia Pacific. ’, Perspectives: Policy and Practice in Higher Education, 20:2–3, pp. 83–90, https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/13603108.2015.1075917.203
     [Google Scholar]
  22. Scharoun, Lisa,, and Montana-Hoyos, Carlos. ( 2017;), ‘ Overseas study tours and cultural intelligence: Can travel coupled with cross-cultural design thinking workshops improve cultural intelligence in arts and design students?. ’, Australasian Journal of Popular Culture, Special Travel Edition, 6:1, pp. 135–48.
     [Google Scholar]
  23. Scharoun, Lisa,, Montana-Hoyos, Carlos,, and Poplin, Justine. ( 2015;), ‘ The importance of cross-cultural learning in the design disciplines: A case study reviewing a series of short term study tours designed to support cross-cultural exchange in the Asia-Pacific region. ’, International Journal of Arts and Sciences, 8:5, pp. 435–42.
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  24. Scharoun, Lisa,, Gudur, Raghavendra,, and Trathen, Steven. ( 2017), ‘Educating the new wave of designers’, Australian Council of Arts and Design Schools 2017, Canberra, 28–29 September, Canberra: ANU School of Art and Design, https://acuads.com.au/conference/article/educating-the-new-wave-of-designers/. Accessed 15 May 2021.
  25. Szkudlarek, Betina. ( 2017), ‘Culture shock holds back Asian employees’, Acuity, 13 April, https://www.acuitymag.com/business/culture-shock-holds-back-asian-employees. Accessed 26 May 2022.
  26. Tarrant, Michael,, and Lyons, Kevin. ( 2012;), ‘ The effect of short-term educational travel programs on environmental citizenship. ’, Environmental Education Research, 18:3, pp. 403–16, https://doi.org/10.1080/13504622.2011.625113.
     [Google Scholar]
  27. Tonby, Oliver,, Woetzel, Jonathon,, Choi, Wonsik,, Elootm Karel, Dhawan,, Rajat, Seong,, Jeongmin,, and Wang, Patti. ( 2021), The Future of Asia: Asian Flows and Networks are Defining the Next Phase of Globalization, New York:: McKinsey & Company;, https://www.mckinsey.com/featured-insights/asia-pacific/the-future-of-asia-asian-flows-and-networks-are-defining-the-next-phase-of-globalization#. Accessed 21 July 2021
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     [Google Scholar]
  29. Wurdinger, Scott,, and Allison, Pete. ( 2017;), ‘ Faculty perceptions and use of experiential learning in higher education. ’, Journal of e-Learning and Knowledge Society, 13:1, pp. 15–26.
     [Google Scholar]
  30. Zubrowski, Bernard. ( 2002;), ‘ Integrating science into design technology projects: Using a standard model in the design process. ’, Journal of Technology Education, 13:2, pp. 48–67.
     [Google Scholar]

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