APPLICATION OF “CODEVE” METHODOLOGY IN TRANSATLANTIC STUDENT DESIGN PROJECT
COllaborative DEsign in Virtual Environment (CODEVE) is a teaching methodology developed within the European Global Product Realisation (EGPR) course over a number of years. It was developed to establish suitable teaching practice to educate students on efficient design methods in a distributed product realisation projects in conjunction with an industrial partner. Students work in international teams formed from multiple partner universities. Communication is primarily through video-conferencing and other synchronous and asynchronous means of communication to perform design tasks including the vision, conceptual design, detail design and prototyping. Students ultimately meet during the final workshop at the end of the course to assemble and test prototypes and to disseminate their work to the company and wider public. The CODEVE methodology was tested in the Erasmus+ funded project called Networked Activities for Realisation of Innovative Products (NARIP) from 2015-2107. It has been implemented in academic institution in Europe. This paper discusses applicability of this methodology in the project which connects universities and industry across the Atlantic. Three universities are participating this year: Brigham Young University from Utah, USA with Industrial Design students, University of Technology and Economics of Budapest in Hungary with product design students and City, University of London from the UK with mechanical, aeronautical and electrical engineering students. The industrial partner is Black Diamond, a global company based in Utah, USA, while the manufacturing of prototypes and final workshop are hosted at City, University of London. Time difference, culture and the discipline of study make implementation of CODEVE methodology in this transatlantic project more difficult than if the project is kept within European Universities. This paper outlines challenges and learning outcomes of students on both sides of Atlantic. Recommendations to modifications in CODEVE methodology to suit transatlantic projects are discussed in the paper.