I am the Director of the Design Factory NZ which is a dedicated holistic learning space within Wintec that supports innovation and creative thinking. It promotes interaction between students and industry to solve real world problems.My role is to lead a team of educational specialists who act as teachers and coaches for students who are in their final year of a degree or in postgraduate study who are working in interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary fields. I develop networks and liaise closely with these partners who may be from community, business, or the public sector. Student teams collaborate on ‘what if’ or ‘how might we’ applied projects and challenges which are complex in nature and are set by the industry partner. The Design Factory is part of a Global Network which was started at Aalto University, Helsinki, Finland and now has 24 members across the world.