PDICC – 080508 PDICC0803/02

RAVENSBOURNE COLLEGE OF DESIGN AND COMMUNICATION

BA (HONS) PRODUCT DESIGN AND BA (HONS) DESIGN FOR INTERACTION

COURSE COMMITTEE

Minutes of the Design for Interaction Course Committee held on Thursday 7 February
2008 at 12.00 in the Boardroom

08.16 WELCOMES AND APOLOGIES

Present: Michelle Douglas Subject Leader BA (Hons) Product

Design/Design for Interaction (Chair)
Carl Clerkin Level 3 Tutor Product Design
Nadine Bennett Level 1Tutor Product Design
Sam Johnson Level 2 Tutor Product Design
Helen Le Voi Senior Lecturer Interaction
Hector Servano Sessional Lecturer
John O’Boyle Director of Quality and Academic Services
Cathryn Smith Senior Quality Officer
Ian Hole Head of ICT
Dan Shane Mac Support Officer
Rachel Todd Library Services Officer
Kerry O’Halloran Business Support Officer
Chris Boorman PFD Level 3 Student Representative
Michael Harris PFD Level 3 Student Representative
Kate Smith PD Level 1 Student Representative
Nick Dungan PD Level 1 Student Representative
Dan Jones INT Level 1 Student Representative
Craig Dennis INT Level 2 Student Representative
Neil Metson INT Level 3 Student Representative
Michael Campbell INT level 3 Student Representative
Paul Jeffery Quality Officer (Secretary)

Apologies
& Absences: Peter Pilgrim Acting Head of Faculty Design

08.17 MINUTES OF THE LAST MEETING

Approved: The minutes of the BA (Hons) Product Design and Design for
Interaction Course Committee held on 8 November 2007
(PDICC08/02/02) were approved.

Quality Team Unconfirmed

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08.18 MATTERS ARISING FROM THE MINUTES

08.18.01. Any Other Business (Min 07.34 – 24/05/07 refers)

Noted: The Subject Leader will meet with the Health and Safety Officer in the
next few weeks regarding a more permanent solution to the heat
problem in the studios and in the third year Interaction room during the
Summer.

The Workshop Supervisor would provide workshop inductions for

Interaction students on request.

08.18.02 Feedback from student course representatives

(Min 08.08 – 08/11/07 refers)

Noted: a) The question of improvements to workshop induction was still under

review, although the extent to which this remains an issue is not clear.
The increasing number of students is clearly a factor. At present the
Workshop Supervisor was absent due to sickness, but the matter
would be considered again in the Summer term.

b) Business Support had attempted to obtain a breakdown of costings for

the Berlin trip, but the Company had refused to provide it, on the
grounds that costs were averaged according to the size of the party to
determine a price for the package. Particular costs may increase or
decrease depending on the number of people on the trip and there
would be a charge for administration as well as a profit margin.
Alternatives for keeping down the cost of trips in future would be
considered, and if they were organised internally all the costs would
be known.

c) The position on sharing MA equipment (mainly an issue for Interaction

students) has not changed, but there were better prospects with the
commencement of the new MA programmes in September and
following recent discussions on access to equipment.

d) A new microwave had been supplied for the CAVE Kitchen.

e) Additional session had been given by the Flash tutor as requested.

08.19 FEEDBACK FROM STUDENT COURSE REPRESENTATIVES

Received: a) There were problems of access to computers in CAVE, because of the

number of machines left rendering for days at a time. Despite
evidence that a significant proportion of all available machines were
idle for much of the time, there was also a chronic problem of
complaints about blocked access to machines because of rendering.
The new render drive that would be installed soon would alleviate the
problem as rendering work would be logged and there would be no
need for computers to be locked.

Quality Team Unconfirmed

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b) Wireless reception in CAVE and elsewhere was unreliable. There was

a problem of interference from other laptop networks and the nature of
the building meant that perfect wireless coverage would never be
achieved. To improve the service, network access sockets were being
installed in throughout the building, starting with the areas where there
was no wireless access or reception was poor. It was not possible to
say at this stage, however, how many sockets there would be in the
workshop. Wireless base stations were also being replaced where
necessary and upgraded with better antennae, but interference from
ad hoc networks would still be a problem.

c) There was said to be a problem of capacity in the photographic studio

at peak times, and the supply of some materials needed renewing. It
was explained that it was possible to book the studio and use it out of
hours, provided there was a member of staff present to switch on the
lighting grid. If access problems persisted, the number of users could
be factored with any priority usage and the available time slots to
assess whether there was a problem with overall capacity.

d) There were a number of concerns about furniture and equipment in

the Interaction room. Quotes were being obtained for furniture and
other issues would receive attention in order of priority.

e) In response to queries about staffing, the Chair said that the process
of recruiting a new Pathway Leader for Interaction was underway and
it was hoped that the appointee would start within the next few
months. News on the appointment of a temporary replacement for the
Subject Leader during her maternity leave was also expected soon.

Agreed: i) The sourcing of supplies for the Photographic Studio would be raised
again with Business Support.

ii) The Subject leader and colleagues would make arrangements for the
smartboard to be fixed and the projector relocated in the Interaction
room. Other equipment and furnishing problems would be addressed
in order of priority.

08.20 EXTERNAL EXAMINERS

Received: Updated External Examiner Action Plans for BA (Hons) Product

Design and BA (Hons) Design for Interaction.

The Chair explained that action was still in progress on many items.
She drew attention, in particular, to continuing work on assessment
criteria and marking, including a meeting that took place at the start of
term which emphasized the developments needed in operation of the
marking scheme. She also mentioned that teaching and mini-projects
across levels had been successful and that the format of the course
handbook was still under consideration. The latter required some work
on visual representation and examples of levels of attainment.

Quality Team Unconfirmed

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08.21 ANNUAL COURSE MONITORING LOGS

Received: Updates and progress reports from Annual Course Monitoring Logs
for BA (Hons) Product Design and BA (Hons) Design for Interaction.

It was noted that the number of females recruited to DI was

significantly increased and that good progress had been made on
staffing issues in preparation for the retirement of the co-leader of the
course. A visiting lecturer programme and the arrival of new sessional
staff after Easter would support the emphasis on consistency in
presentation of work. The design elective would run for another year
in its current form, and its future development would be considered
again in the Summer term.

08.22 COURSE UPDATE

Noted: Four Level 3 PFD students had been short-listed for RSA awards; two
for Ceramic Futures and two for Inclusive Worlds. It should be borne
in mind that the short-lists would not be complete until the end of April.
The Chair also reported that collaborative projects with the
Metropolitan Police and the Royal Opera House were being planned.

08.23 POSTGRADUATE DEVELOPMENT

Received: Draft programme specifications for the current postgraduate

developments relevant to the course – MA/MSc Interactive Product
Futures and MA Interactive Digital Media.

The Senior Quality Officer explained the background to the

development of the MA programmes which would be of interest to
Product and Interaction students interested in continuing their studies
after graduation. There would be a launch event for the new
programmes later in the month.

08.24 ANY OTHER BUSINESS

Noted: a) The National Student Survey commenced on 7th January and is due to
finish at the end of April 2008. The survey is for final year
undergraduates and they can receive a £5 print credit when
completing the survey online and taking the proof of completion to
Finance.

The Subject Leader had emailed students encouraging them to take

part in the survey. Eligible students had also been contacted directly
by the agency conducting the survey. It was emphasized that findings
from the survey would influence change in the College as they had in
previous years.

Quality Team Unconfirmed

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b) The Head of ICT reported a problem with wireless base-stations being

disconnected to connect other equipment. If the problem persisted,
the base-stations would be removed.

c) It was explained that work for New Designers was selected by

teaching staff, to ensure that the work exhibited was of a professional
standard. The College paid to take part in the exhibition and staff had
responsibility for organisation and selection of work. Because the
available space was limited, images may be exhibited instead of
products.

08.25 DATE AND TIME OF NEXT MEETING

Thursday 8 May 2008 at 1200 in the Boardroom.

Quality Team Unconfirmed