Postgraduate and Undergraduate Taught Unit (40 credits), Centre for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, University of Bristol
Client-Led Briefs was a large, practice-led taught unit delivered across both postgraduate and undergraduate programmes at the Centre for Innovation and Entrepreneurship. In this unit, students worked in transdisciplinary teams as consultants to external partner organisations, responding to live briefs rooted in real social, cultural and industrial challenges.
I became director of the Client-Led Briefs unit in 2020, having previously taught on the unit alongside its original designer and director, Anne Padley, from 2018. Working with the Centre’s extensive network of social, public-sector and commercial partners, I led the development of live briefs for each cohort and coordinated delivery across teaching staff and external collaborators.
Partner organisations provided mentors and coaches who worked alongside academic staff to support each student team. This structure enabled students to work in an agile, professional manner, undertaking research, prototyping ideas and developing proofs of concept in response to client needs.
Through the unit, students completed live projects with partners including Bristol Housing Festival, GOV.UK, Rolls-Royce, the UK Environment Agency, the European Broadcasting Union, and Access for SEN. The unit supported students to develop collaborative working practices, professional communication skills and experience of delivering innovative, real-world outcomes within complex organisational contexts.
