Abstract

Portugal displays a gap between design higher education and the professional practice, namely with companies. There are communication problems, as well as a bad evaluation of the skills offered by educational institutions in comparison with those expected by the companies and achieved, in reality, by designers. This poor interaction was reinforced by the recent economic crisis. The research, shared knowledge, and, consequently, creative outcomes must be incentivized, overcoming the business deadlock and meeting new challenges. The change starts with education as a preparatory base for boosting innovation. This leads to a fundamental question on which we must reflect: what strategies should be adopted to boost the triangle of research, education, and practice? As part of a PhD research focused on product design curricula’s adequacy to business challenges, this article presents part of the results of the empirical research methodology already applied. Some interviews were done with experts and privileged people from international institutions, where it was possible to understand the existence of a co-construction of knowledge culture, through collaborative practices, which contribute to the consolidation of the national economy and competitiveness.