Design for Sustainable Innovation

Design for Sustainable Innovation is a creative, interdisciplinary discipline that asks how design thinking can be applied to the challenge of making the world more just, equitable, and environmentally responsible. Design has always been about solving problems and creating value, but sustainable innovation extends that mission to consider the long-term social, environmental, and economic consequences of the things we make and the systems we create. The discipline welcomes perspectives from across the arts, sciences, engineering, and social sciences, recognising that the challenges of sustainability require genuinely collaborative and pluralist approaches.

At the University of Warwick, this three-year, full-time programme invites students from all backgrounds to work together towards innovations for a better future. You will develop a design mindset alongside a practical design skillset, learning to apply creative thinking to complex, real-world challenges in ways that are sensitive to sustainability considerations. The curriculum crosses disciplinary boundaries, drawing on the humanities, social sciences, sciences, and engineering as the problems you encounter demand, building the flexibility and integrative thinking that sustainable design requires.

Warwick's research culture and its interdisciplinary ethos provide a rich environment for this kind of ambitious, values-driven education.

Graduates of Design for Sustainable Innovation work in sustainable product and service design, social enterprise, innovation consultancy, policy, corporate sustainability, and the NGO sector. The ability to apply design thinking to complex systems-level challenges is increasingly sought after across industries that are grappling with environmental and social responsibilities. Many graduates go on to postgraduate study in design, sustainability, social innovation, or related fields, building specialist expertise for careers at the frontier of the sustainability transition.

The degree prepares you to contribute to change at both the organisational and the systemic level.