From Studio to Society: A Hardware–Software–Heartware Framework for Interdisciplinary Design Innovation in the New World University

<p dir="ltr">This study investigates an interdisciplinary pedagogical model developed at the Singapore Institute of Technology (SIT) to address the growing complexity of global challenges through innovative higher education design. Implemented within the <i>Design Innovation</i> common module, the model engages students from nursing, engineering, computing, and allied health disciplines in solving authentic problems using the Critical Design Futures Thinking (CDF™) and Design Your Life (DYL) approaches. The framework guiding this initiative—the Hardware–Software–Heartware (H–S–H) Tri-Layer Framework—conceptualizes learning as a dynamic interplay of physical, curricular, and socio-emotional dimensions. <i>Hardware</i> encompasses the new SIT campus as a living laboratory that integrates the built environment, digital infrastructure, and community contexts. <i>Software</i> represents the curriculum as an adaptive system designed through iterative learning sprints, incorporating empathy-based problem framing and ethical Generative AI integration. <i>Heartware</i> focuses on the socio-emotional and cultural layers that nurture collaboration, reflective practice, and ethical awareness. A diverse array of data sources was utilised to ensure comprehensive insights and triangulation. Data sources included curriculum material, student module feedback and project deliverables, sampled from module cohorts across two consecutive trimesters (AY2024 Trimester 2 and 3). Through thematic analysis and vignette development, the study aims to illustrate how the H–S–H framework operationalizes interdisciplinarity as an active interaction among space, structure, and culture. The insights are expected to inform the framework’s scalability for general education as well as Continuing Education and Training (CET) programmes, contributing to a broader vision of campuses as innovation studios and societal prototyping platforms.</p>