Show Notes
The Design & Technology Association is proud to enter its second year supporting Samsung's Solve for Tomorrow competition. Solve for Tomorrow is a free-to-enter, tech-for-good competition which empowers students aged 11-18 to solve real-world problems in one of three carefully selected design contexts. Its objective is to empower young people, regardless of their background, to develop the future-ready skills required not just for employment, but for modern life. In this podca...
More from Designed for Life
For the second year running, I am delighted that Designed for Life was recorded live at New Designers in London in early July. I know some listeners won't be familiar with New Designers (https://www.newdesigners.com/), so what is it, and why is it so important? New Designers is the UK's leading annual graduate design exhibition, showcasing the work of over 2,500 emerging designers across disciplines like product design, textiles, graphics, and contemporary crafts. Held in London e...
3D printing has gone from strength to strength in recent years within UK schools and is now firmly established as one of the major tools used by students to fast prototype. The majority of D&T departments now have at least one printer, and with the market now dominated by Bambu Lab, these new machines are making 3D printing available to all (including many students now having their own machines at home); it is clear that the use of 3D printing will continue to grow and develop withi...
In part two of this two-part mini-series, we dig deep into what system changes might be necessary to make teaching the attractive profession that it once was. One-third of all teachers who have qualified across all subjects in the last decade have already left teaching; here we ask why that might be the case and what needs to change. We also talk to more students graduating from their PGCE qualification and find out what excites and frustrates them from their experience to this point. I...
Goldsmiths, University of London is one of the longest-established providers of D&T teacher education in the country and, over the years, has been instrumental in helping shape the subject that we now know. In this short mini-series of two episodes, we spent a day at Goldsmiths talking with Alice Hellard, who leads the PGCE programme at the university and some of this year's graduates who, at the time of recording, were just days away from completing their course. At a time when tra...
At the end of 2025, I was privileged to be asked to visit the JLR plant in Gaydon in the West Midlands to attend their Creative Showcase. I don't hide the fact that I am a car enthusiast, so I must admit that letting me loose amidst the creativity, design and engineering excellence on show was a little akin to letting a child with a sweet tooth free in a sweet shop. One of the highlights of the day for me was meeting a group of apprentices from a range of creative disciplines. As far as...