About the DIDET Project
'Digital Libraries for Global Distributed Innovative Design, Education and Teamwork' (DIDET).
The DIDET Project was one of four projects in the Digital Libraries in the Classroom programme. The programme was funded by JISC in the UK and NSF (National Science Foundation) in the USA and each of the projects represented a collaboration between institutions in the UK and USA. The DIDET project brought together a range of expertise from the Center for Design Research at Stanford University (CA, USA), the department of Design Manufacture and Engineering Management (DMEM) at the University of Strathclyde (UK) and Olin College of Engineering (MA, USA). These institutions have a reputation for internationally leading design education and between them graduate approximately 900 engineers each year. The collaborators have extensive backgrounds in research into design team performance, pedagogical evaluation, the use of leading edge ICT in design, and research into digital libraries.
The DIDET project was undertaken to transform the education process for design engineering; to enhance learning opportunities for students by enabling them to participate in global team-based design engineering projects. Global design activities have been introduced as part of existing classes at Stanford University and Olin College, and a new annual Global Design class was launched at the University of Strathclyde. This has gives students experience of working within multi-cultural contexts on an ongoing basis at the institutions, enabling them to develop global design team working skills for future employment; using appropriate tools and technology for successful distributed design project working.
Full details of the project, its aims, achievements, conclusions and recommendations can be found in the DIDET Project Final Report; approved by JISC in July 2008. This report also contains the DIDET Project Framework.
- DIDET Project Themes; Design Education, Digital Libraries, wiki Technology and Information Literacy
- About LauLima; the customised wiki-based system comprising a learning environment and digital library
