The Master of Design Innovation and Technology (MDIT) programs agenda is to speculate on the future of design practice. Advances in the digital age have already transformed design practice, but we are only at the beginning of a greater revolution in the integrated application of technology and its influence on the design of objects, spaces, buildings and cities. As innovation in spatial design pra
ctice is positioned at the intersection of several disciplines, this program attracts students from a wide variety of professions such as architecture, interior design, industrial design, graphic design, animation, computer science, engineering, media and sound design. With this in mind the Master of Design Innovation and Technology (MDIT) is set up so that students have a broad range of paths through the program. In these courses, students have the opportunity to choose from a range of design projects that address the following research streams:
• Digital Fabrication - digital design, fabrication and advanced manufacturing
• Sustainable Systems – responsive and responsible energy efficient design solutions
• Spatial Sound – sound based explorations of urban environments
• Information Environments - connections between data, information, people and space
• Interactive Technologies – interactive, autonomous and intelligent object systems
• Phenomena and Affect – embodied, sensorial and affective immersive environments
The specific projects exploring these themes change each semester as they are related to industry partnered research projects, which are developed by the staff of the MDIT. Students join studio intensives for 6 weeks at a time and work together in groups to develop design thinking and outcomes relative to the studio topic. These classes are concentrated and fast paced design based explorations (they require full-time commitment from the students involved - particularly as it is group work). The program can be taken full or part time, however the intensive nature of the studios requires even part time students to dedicate a concentrated 6 weeks (with two full day attendance at RMIT a week) for their completion. International intensive studios integrate travel into the curriculum of the course, with up to 2 weeks spent in an international location relevant to the project. These travel studios also involve work in Melbourne before and after the international experience. Past destinations have included Barcelona, Beijing and Ho Chi Min City. Alongside the Design Studios a number of program electives are offered, that sit amongst a wider selection of university electives. The MDIT electives provide focused and specialised skills training into the technologies and techniques that underpin the programs design studio offerings. The electives run for 3 hours 12 weeks each semester. Electives include:
• Flexible modelling for Design and Prototyping
• Soundscape Studies
• Designing with Data
• Making Things Interactive
• 3D Printing
Students who do not come from a design background or those wishing to develop particular skills relevant to their proposed course of study are encouraged to take these electives. It is up to each student to shape the direction of their studies in the program and position their developing portfolio within the professional field which they wish to pursue. In the final semester of the program students complete a major project in the area of design research in which they are interested. The outcomes of these major projects are wide reaching and reflect the scope of design fields that the program explores. Please visit
https://www.rmit.edu.au/study-with-us/levels-of-study/postgraduate-study/masters-by-coursework/mc231
