What is Product Design Engineering (PDE)

The fields of design and engineering both contribute to product design and development. Increasingly design teams require an integrated approach in environments where mutual understanding and respect replace traditional professional rivalries. These new synergies both enhance communication and understanding between designers and engineers and lead engineering into new areas of professional activity. Engineers are integral to the product development process, but change in product development and manufacturing requires new responsibilities; design engineers must assume a greater role to achieve successful product realisation. However, to be effective engineers must develop new skills; creative design ability, understanding of societal and environmental impacts and a human-centred approach. These themes, not typically addressed by engineering curricula are evident in a new approach to engineering education - product design engineering. This chapter addresses issues confronting product design and development and examines the emergence of this new engineering professional in response.