Dublin Creative Design Network Launched by NCAD and UCD

In a major strategic partnership, UCD and the National College of Art and Design have joined forces to create a new multidisciplinary initiative called the Dublin Creative Design Network.

The Dublin Creative Design Network partnership aims to bring together the disciplines of design, engineering, technology and business to address future innovation challenges.

The initiative builds on the existing academic alliance, to create a new national centre of excellence to give designers, architects, engineers, technologists and business managers better understanding and broader skills to operate in tomorrow's markets.

Integrating creative art and design capability into other disciplines is critical to drive innovation, and the partnership will become an important source of competitive advantage for Ireland.

UCD and NCAD partnered with the Institute of Designers in Ireland http://www.idi-design.ie/ to bring leading design thinker, John Thackara to Dublin to launch the initiative on October 25, with a talk entitled "Thriving in a no growth economy".

"Anyone who believes exponential growth can go on forever in a finite world is either a madman - or an economist." (Kenneth Boulding)

The event was the first in a series of master classes which aim to generate debate, discussion and connections between people from various perspectives with an underlying idea that Design is what links Creativity to Innovation.