DESIGNING AN INTERDISCIPLINARY COURSE: CASE STUDY OF AN INTERDISCIPLINARY PROJECT COMBINING MARKETING RESEARCH, ENGINEERING, AND MEDIA ARTS

ABSTRACT

Interdisciplinary courses and activities are becoming more popular as the benefits of collaboration have become apparent. For example, collaboration between different disciplines in organizations, such as engineering and marketing, has been shown to significantly enhance the product development process. Various strategies have been used to encourage this collaboration. One strategy is to provide instruction in collaboration across disciplines at the undergraduate collegiate level. This case study discusses an interdisciplinary project between Marketing Research, Engineering, and Media Arts. The basic design of the initial course, strategies used to enhance collaboration, student learning outcomes, identification of key issues affecting the interdisciplinary project, and a revised design for teaching future interdisciplinary projects are included. Also included are some of the major challenges and design issues with interdisciplinary work.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).