Designed for Life

In this latest podcast, we are in conversation with Alex Knight, award-winning founder and CEO of the amazing STEMazing initiative. The best way to introduce you to STEMazing's mission and work is to take this quote directly from their website: "STEMAZING is a Call to Action to collectively amplify the voice of women in Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths so we can create a more d...

This is the second part of a two-part series of podcasts, and the first of its kind recorded live in a school. We are excited to be able to bring you what we plan will be a series of spotlight sessions focused on D&T departments nationally. If you have stumbled across this episode without listening to Part One of the mini-series, I politely suggest you go back, as sequencing is quite essential...

This is the first in a two-part series of podcasts and the first recorded live in a school. We are excited to be able to bring you what we plan will be the first in a series of spotlight sessions focused on D&T departments nationally.  Baysgarth School is a Co-educational secondary school located in Barton-on-Humber, North Lincolnshire. The school was formed in 1975 through the merger of Barto...

In this episode, we follow Gill's journey from church school, where her dad was the local vicar and knew 'everyone', through to training as a structural engineer, a job that Gill loved and thought she would work in for the rest of her working life.  As a young graduate engineer with a degree in applied geology and engineering, Gill took the first tentative steps into the adult world...

Magway is a values-driven startup technology business situated in Wembley, North West London. Started in 2017, their staged vision is to take cargo off our roads and instead run the bulk of this cargo emissions-free on magnetic motor-driven 'trains' either set above or below ground.  They are working to drive an electrical revolution, unlock new economies and connect cities, towns and co...

This is the third and final episode in our short mini-series on Teachers in Residence, the initiative within the Design and Technology Association that places teachers in business and industry placements, within which they gain a detailed perspective of the company, learn more about the sector that the business works within, thus allowing them to return to school empowered with this experience and...

This is the second of three in our short mini-series on Teachers in Residence, the initiative within the Design and Technology Association that places teachers in business and industry placements, within which they gain a detailed perspective of the company, learn more about the sector that the business works within, thus allowing them to return to school empowered with this experience and with a...

Around three years ago, the Design and Technology Association recognised a problem which many teachers expressed. Many D&T teachers had entered the profession through the traditional route, school-university-school and as such had no experience of working in business or industry that could inform their teaching.  We tried a few trials with teacher placements into industry. We instantly saw tha...

In this episode, we are delighted to be in conversation with Nick Grey, founder and Managing Director of Grey Technologies, better known to most of us as GTech.  GTech manufactures cordless tools, with the range running from vacuum cleaners through to garden tools and equipment. In this podcast we follow Nick's journey from his earliest years and what sounds like a few idyllic years when his...

In this episode, we are delighted to be joined by Dr Lynne Bianchi. Lynne is Vice Dean for Social Responsibility, Equality, Diversity, Inclusion and Accessibility, Director of the Science & Engineering Education Research and Innovation Hub & Senior Lecturer at Manchester University.  A staunch advocate of STEM and vocational education, we track Lynne's journey from her school days, wh...

Twin brothers Richard and Antony Joseph are founders and owners of one of the world's most iconic and innovative kitchenware brands.  In this podcast, we are fortunate to be in conversation with Richard Joseph, who takes us through his journey from school, where design and technology played a key role in setting his future direction as a designer, through the early days of Joseph Joseph selli...

It's that time of year again when we track back over the nineteen podcasts released so far this year (with more still to come before 2023) and pick out some of the best bits to string together into an end-of-year compilation. This is always a difficult task, but this year it has proved to be even more so, with some amazing guests providing brilliant thought pieces within the pods. That said,...

Welcome into 2023, and on behalf of everyone at the D&T Association, I would like to wish you all a happy, healthy and peaceful new year! The First episode of 2023 and the first in season three welcomes Matt Hewison as our guest. Matt is the Co-founding Director of Cyberwhite, a disruptive provider of security services and risk mitigation technologies based in the North East but working with S...

If you are intrigued by the art of leadership, especially how to lead an organisation through a period of profound change successfully, then you will love this podcast.  If you are fascinated by the sheer art and skill required to manufacture anything that is high in quality and is designed and built to last, then you will love this podcast. If you find yourself conflicted between a societal push...

If you are intrigued by the art of leadership, especially how to lead an organisation through a period of profound change successfully, then you will love this podcast.  If you are fascinated by the sheer art and skill required to manufacture anything that is high in quality and is designed and built to last, then you will love this podcast. If you find yourself conflicted between a societal push...

Six years ago, Lynne Elvins and some of her designer friends and colleagues were discussing life, work and, specifically, the challenges of onboarding juniors into their business.  All agreed that some amazing young people were looking to enter the profession. Equally, all agreed that young people were, more often than not, not fully prepared for studio life when they entered employment; they brou...

In this episode, we are delighted to be in conversation with architect, entrepreneur and co-founder of PrintLab, a 3D printing business focused on providing hardware and curriculum content to educators within the UK and indeed worldwide. https://weareprintlab.com/ This is a podcast that we have been chasing for a while now. PrintLabs curriculum content and resources are exceptional, and we have se...

This episode of Designed for Life was recorded live at the V&A London as part of the London Design Festival 2022.  Yewande Akinola is one of the foremost design engineers in the UK today. Born and raised in Western Nigeria, she describes her interest in the built environment and bridges from an early age, intrigued by the beauty and structure of buildings around her.  Her father was a Governme...

We were fortunate to bump into Kialy at Young Designers this year and knew there and then that she had a story to tell that made her a perfect guest for this podcast. In this episode, we hear how Kialy set her heart and soul on working in fashion at a very young age, and when she secured a place on the foundation course at Central St. Martin's, this set the stage for her dream to come true. F...

In this episode, we are delighted to be in conversation with Sustainable Futures Educator and Interpreter Carra Santos https://www.carrasantos.com  Carra came from a rural upbringing in Northern Ireland. She was 'promoted' a year aged only four years old, a decision that, when played forward, saw her heading off to Leeds and a foundation course aged seventeen with a suitcase full of clot...

In this episode, I am delighted to be in conversation with award-winning British inventor, YouTube Channel host, presenter and professional speaker Ruth Amos. Ruth's future took a massive diversion when she was tasked with designing a mobility aid for a member of her design and technology teachers' family who had suffered a stroke. The task quickly escalated from a school GCSE project to...

How do you move from 'table 6', the table at the back of the classroom for the lowest achievers, to being recognised in the New Year Honours List for "services to apprenticeships and STEM education"? Listen to the latest episode of Designed for Life, and you will find out!  Ian Green is currently Learning Specialist at British Volt and a Professor of Practice at Newcastle Unive...

We are delighted to bounce back with this episode in conversation with Dyson Institute graduate Oyemen Okes after a short break.  Oyemen's journey to Dyson was serendipitous. She overheard a conversation between a fellow student and a teacher and set off to learn more about what Dyson had to offer. We talk with her about her journey to the institute, navigating the detailed application proces...

In late February, the Education Policy Institute (EPI) released a research paper on the current plight of design and technology education in England, ' A spotlight on design and technology study in England '. The Design and Technology Association is proud to be one of the facilitating partners for this research alongside The IET , ERA Foundation , Foster and Partners Architects and the J...

In this episode, we are privileged to be in conversation with independent strategic design consultant Matthew Cockerill.  Matthew concentrates on helping companies accurately position their future direction and focus by identifying what he terms their 'near future' opportunities.  Not crystal ball gazing into the future and predicting what lies ahead, more pinning a destination down to w...