As we mark the 10th anniversary of the Dyson School of Design Engineering, we reflect on a decade of significant achievements and innovative education. Founded in 2014 with the generous support of the James Dyson Foundation, our school is the newest addition to the Faculty of Engineering at Imperial College London. We have distinguished ourselves by representing a significant departure from traditional engineering disciplines in pedagogy, in philosophy, and in the manner in which engineering design is conceptualised.

Engineers have traditionally focussed on the design of “better things”. Climate change, sustainability, and the need for socially just transition to net zero, have made it clear to the world, that making “better things” is not the same as “making things better”. Traditional engineering design rarely consider how the things that we make interact with humans. In fact, traditional engineering is principally focussed on replacing one form of consumption, with another notionally better form of consumption, without considering the stimulus generated by the new products that we design. It is precisely this gap that we are seeking to narrow at the Dyson School of Design Engineering, by forging a new discipline that is centred on the codesign of technologies and behaviours. This philosophy goes beyond ideas such as human centred design, and human in the loop design, with our focus being on engineering systems and managing consumption in a single framework, so that we do make things better.  

In celebration of our journey as the youngest department, we are excited to bring our community together through two special events.