The Royal College of Art Set to Launch Healthcare Innovation Centre
15 May 2013 – The Royal College of Art is planning to launch a pioneering healthcare design innovation centre with Imperial College London.
Building on previous collaboration and research between the two prestigious London colleges, the Healthcare Innovation Exchange (HELIX) Centre will combine the RCA’s creativity and user-centred design expertise with ICL’s clinical, engineering and scientific know-how. It will maximise healthcare research and innovation’s economic and social impact with national and international partners.
‘The aim [of the HELIX Centre] is to transform and improve healthcare, which will lead to cost-effective healthcare delivery and cement the UK’s reputation as a global business hub for healthcare innovation,’ said Dr Paul Thompson, who will co-direct the Centre alongside professor Lord Ara Darzi, director of the Institute for Global Health Innovation at ICL.
The HELIX Centre builds on a previous RCA/ICL joint venture, Design London. Under the HELIX Centre, Design London’s core innovation model of bringing science, technology, business and design together in one interdisciplinary unit, will be implemented in a specialist healthcare setting.
The history of collaboration between the RCA and ICL has produced numerous academic publications, international prizes and innovative design-led products and solutions. Designing Out Medical Error was a three-year research project between the two. The team of designers, clinical researchers and surgeons worked together to essentially build a new type of hospital bed space, equipment and systems with the aim of reducing common medical errors – showcasing findings and work through an accompanying public exhibition. It was widely hailed as having enormous potential to save lives.
The HELIX Centre will benefit from the Higher Education Funding Council for England’s Catalyst Fund. Minister for Universities and Science David Willetts announced today that the Government will add an extra £50m to the fund to support higher education institutes’ work with business and help boost the UK’s economic recovery. The RCA is one of 16 UK higher education institutions to receive a share.
‘Universities and colleges are vital to the UK’s economy. This extra £50 million will harness the potential for growth across the regions, focus on our world-class industrial sectors, and create a skilled workforce for the future. It will support cutting-edge innovation and research projects and keep us ahead in the global race,’ Willetts said.
The Royal College of Art will now work up a full business proposal for a final funding decision to be announced this summer.