Woods Bagot has worked alongside Dr Carl Reidsema, recipient of a major Australian Learning and Teaching Grant for his work in engineering curriculum development, to produce a world-class Multidisciplinary Design Studio (MDS) at the University of New South Wales.

The MDS is located within the School of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering and provides a space for undergraduates, postgraduates and academic staff to interact with industry on real-world design and research projects. The project is a national leader due to the degree to which it reflects the global trend towards design thinking in engineering.

The design of the work-spaces within the MDS has been greatly influenced by the CDIO Initiative, a new generation approach to engineering teaching and learning developed and adopted by leading institutions such as Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Singapore Polytechnic, University of Sydney, École Polytechnique de Montréal, California State University, Arizona State University, Tsinghua University, and many more.

CDIO stands for Conceive, Design, Implement Operate and the MDS provides a range of environments that support the work-styles associated with each phase of the CDIO framework for engineering problem solving.

This collaborative and multi-disciplinary learning environment makes a significant contribution to furthering the University of New South Wales’ position as a national leader in the delivery of engineering education.