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Knowledge Exchange and Research
Currently reading: What we do
Promoting a culture of collaboration, innovation, and interdisciplinary exchange
What we do
At Ravensbourne, knowledge exchange is embedded in everything we do. We are dedicated to building partnerships with other institutions, industry partners and the wider community.
This is what we do:
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Deliver impactful knowledge exchange and research projects that focus on collaborative and inclusive exchanges with industry, academia, public sector and the community
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Ensure our knowledge exchange and research positively impacts society and the economy
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Support staff, students, graduates and partners in their knowledge exchange and research ambitions
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Work with local, national and international communities on innovative knowledge exchange and research initiatives
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Pursue funding opportunities that foster innovation and celebrate excellence.
Our projects
In Pursuit of Luxury
In Pursuit of Luxury is an internationally focused omni channel consortium of industry and academia that brings together diverse disciplines to encourage thinking outside of established boundaries.
Podcast
On the In Pursuit of Luxury podcast, influencers, thinkers and industry insiders share their stories. They are asked the same set of questions, revealing a breadth of perspectives on society, consumption, trends and of course attitudes to luxury.
Researchers
Modeclix
Modeclix is a 3D printed textile that can be used to make an array of different types of flexible products, from clothing and accessories to toys and interior decorations.
Its innovation is in its ability to be infinitely deconstructed and then reconstructed by hand after printing. This enables Modeclix to simply be re-configured, re-purposed, repaired and recycled at any time. This extends both its use and the products lifecycle.
Modeclix is a modular design solution that encourages customers to be part of a community that is concerned about the impact their behaviour is having on the planet.
Researchers
Shaun Borstrock and Mark Bloomfield
Power of Waves
AHRC Design Enterprise Partnership
We live in a world of excess, fuelled by economic growth encouraging wasteful behaviour at the expense of our natural resources. Switching to manufacturing products from waste material is vital if we’re to transition to Green Ecosystems successfully. These new processes will stimulate productivity, improve employment opportunities and encourage community cohesion through the development of new products and services that have a positive impact in the real-world.
Companies need to explore techniques that lessen or remove their environmental impact and find alternative ways of designing, manufacturing, marketing and selling their products. The circular economy is a proven methodology to reduce the impact of waste on the environment. The vision of the project is for a furniture manufacturer to showcase what a circular economy looks like. Wood Bros, in Hertfordshire in collaboration with coastal community partners will utilise excess, waste and recycled materials transforming them into unique and/or bespoke pieces of furniture.
The focus is multifaceted in that it addresses the notion of green transition in several ways. Specifically, the use and reuse of excess and waste Harris Tweed Hebrides® (HTH) cloth and abandoned and discarded fishing nets that are recycled into filament for 3D printing by Fishy Filaments (FF) in Cornwall.
Through the introduction of circular models that contribute to sustaining communities in both the Cornish fishing sector and the HTH community workforce, we will devise and implement alternative supply chains that support business growth in uncertain and changing market conditions.
An additional aspect of this project will be to understand and assess the appropriateness of transport and communication networks and how disconnected communities can become more cohesive. At the heart of the project lies the drive to design and manufacture furniture using waste and or discarded materials that have value and purpose. Our distinct approach considers the significant contribution the communities make through their innovative use of materials. This unique partnership model is structured in a way that situates the coastal community partners at the centre of the project to contribute to the realisation of the design and manufacture of furniture.
Building a chair that illustrates the green transition becomes the platform to tell its story. It takes the form of a multi-faceted, collaborative construct that through its constituent parts articulates a narrative around often neglected communities. The chair in the community becomes the ‘seat’ from which stories can be told by people with stories to tell.
Researchers
Shaun Borstrock and Mark Bloomfield
Our research community
Our experimental research community explores the potential of existing and emerging creative technologies – in, and not limited to:
- Design
- Music
- Film
- Architecture
- Fashion
- Big data
- Communication.
We have an international reputation as a knowledge exchange and research partner on innovative projects, working with industry, academia, the community and government in the UK and beyond.
At Ravensbourne, we embed knowledge exchange and research within the culture of the university by encouraging staff and students to engage in both academic and practice-based work.
We focus on new approaches to interactivity and immersive technology, social innovation applied to design and culture, and commercial knowledge exchange and research in the creative industries and beyond.
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Our specialisms
Our specialisms include:
- Immersive and augmented realities
- Wearable tech
- AR and VR for learning
- Smart Cities and urban design
- New filming and narrative technologies
- Fashion, branding and communication
- Big data
- Additive manufacture
- Innovation in materials and production techniques.
Our reach extends widely into sectors including mental health, engineering, construction, sport and entertainment.
Our technology specialists and extensive community of partners are committed to merging theory with practice-based knowledge exchange and research, with the aim of turning experiments into impactful reality.
In the media
Future Observatory, February 2024
An interview with Dr Shaun Borstrock, Head of Knowledge Exchange and Research and Mark Bloomfield.
Power of Waves is a Design Exchange Partnership project led by Ravensbourne University, in collaboration with Wood Bros Furniture, Harris Tweed Hebrides and Fishy Filaments.