Abstract:

We discuss in this paper the importance of increasing the number of professionals capable to know the integrative process that under a general view we call PROJECT mainly in the field of design and innovation, but that should be extended to projects in all areas of knowledge. Expert professionals to plan and carry on projects, different to other professional who have not been able to develop this capability. We explore the results of success learning experience of undergraduate and postgraduate students, and the benefits to expose them to multidisciplinary and collaborative work which pursue at the end to have some kind of product (or service).
We describe some topics we have had identified about participants on a project/product oriented learning experience, some personal aptitudes that could be affirm it during the process:
1. Complex process involvement
2. Long term work resistance
3. Ability to keep focused on the objective
4. Commitment and passion
5. Adaptability
6. Endurance (Resistance) to ambiguity
Also we talk about the multidisciplinary and collaborative work as a way to build a unified discourse within a team work, managing that members of different specialities go beyond the methodology paradigm of their field; as an example an engineer student will focus on productivity or technology, business student will focus on market and finance, design students will focus on aesthetics and ergonomics, anthropologist will focus on human factors, and so on; at the very first view it seems to be fine but it is an incomplete way to understand problems and to generate solutions.
Tha’s why we discuss about the importance of multidisciplinary and collaborative work as an environment where participants are able to understand the holistic mode of reality where the hole means more than the addition of parts; in such a way interdisciplinary knowledge could (be) convey to the decision field having social, economic and cultural effect; a way of breaking down imaginary barriers imposed by our professional specialization, a necessity for professionals immerse in to the present and future global world.
We also have reflected on the difference between professionals capable to execute projects and those which are not prepared for, and the relation of each one to the possibility of having direct effect in to the society improving life quality.
The ideas are the result of a teaching experience since the 1990 decade and most recently the result of collaborative, multidisciplinary plus global teaching experiences.

Keywords:

Design, multidisciplinary, collaboratve, global, project learning, product, education.