As we continue to transform the health sector's digital acceleration towards better patient outcomes, a new environment is coming to the fore. The advancement and collaboration between Science and Design (Biodesign) will become an important driver for sustainable innovation.
This grassroots level of engagement and interdisciplinary collaboration is pushing for new meaningful and valuable innovation. There is a new generation of innovators embracing open access to science, community-driven resources and learning opportunities to build a more sustainable future.
Here are some examples:
- Next month, Central Saint Martins College in London offer a new Masters degree in Biodesign to promote sustainable innovation.The new two-year Masters programme will explore bio-informed design strategies in a bid to encourage more eco-friendly focused innovation to shift the way we consume and create in the future.It is hoped this will allow students to develop new design propositions that can "redefine energy, water, air, waste and materials and how we design and make in the future"."We believe that in order to tackle contemporary environmental and societal challenges, there is an increased need for hybrid models of education between design and science," course leader Nancy Diniz told Dezeen. "We are already witnessing an energetic movement of startups and young entrepreneurs focusing on developing products and services on circular design, zero waste, sustainable materials and low-energy manufacturing, for example."
Visit https://www.dezeen.com/2019/05/21/central-saint-martins-biodesign-ma - Since 2016, MoMA (Museum of Modern Art) and Parsons School of Design have been hosting the Biodesign Challenge, a design competition for university students to 'envision future applications of biotechnology'. On June 20 and 21, 2019, 37 teams from around the world gathered for the challenge. A couple of winners from this year's summit came from RMIT and University of Technology, Sydney.
Visit https://biodesignchallenge.org/summit-2019 - At the CSM Material Futures 2019 show, Rosie Broadhead introduced SKIN II, a fashion project in collaboration with microbiologist Dr Chris Callewaert. The garment encapsulates probiotic bacteria into the fibers of clothing to create another layer of biome environment on the skin. The chosen bacteria is associated with reducing body odour, cell renewal and improving our skin's immune system.
Visit https://somethingcurated.com/2019/06/19/the-csm-material-futures-2019-graduates-you-should-know/ - In Melbourne, BioQuisitive is a charity that operates a PC1 laboratory (physical containment level 1) for the sole purpose of making innovation, discovery, and education in the sciences accessible to the public. Through democratising access to science, we aim to help science literacy, engagement, and it's application in solving challenges today and tomorrow. "We welcome the dreamers, and the doers" - Toni 2018 - BioQuisitive'
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Collaboration between academia, corporates and biodesign communities with a human centered focus and approach is key if we are to build a more sustainable future for all.
Do you know of any innovations in Biodesign? We would love to hear about it.