Mr Clive Hilton

Professional biography

Prior to rejoining The Open University, at Coventry University I collaboratively redesigned the former MSc Industrial Product Design course and changed the qualification to MA Product Design Innovation. The curriculum redesign is now the validated template for all postgraduate design courses at Coventry University. I introduced the use of project video output as an alternative to written formats to mitigate English language deficit among affected students.

Research interests

My research interests and PhD study centred around why Chinese design students studying in the UK, statistically under-attain in comparison to other international and domestic students.

Thesis title: An Examination of The Factors Influencing the Attainment Gap Among Chinese Product Design Students Studying at Coventry University.

Wider research interests:  Internationalisation of curricula. Internationalised design pedagogy in higher education. Online design course delivery paradigms. Hybrid learning spaces. Mechanisms for overcoming language limitation among international learners. Transferrable creativity. Processes of ideation. I have presented at workshops and conferences in China, Turkey, Denmark, Finland, UK.

Teaching interests

Pragmatic design pedagogy. Special interest in international students and techniques for narrowing attainment gaps.

Impact and engagement

Student Competition Successes

In international competitions, students and alumni of the MSc IPD programme have won three Red Dot Awards (2014 – 2015), including Best Concept 2014, Best of Best Concept 2014. At the time, unrivalled attainment for any UK University.

International links

Proactive in forging collaborations with institutions abroad – Tongji University, Shanghai; Communication University of Zhejiang, Tongxiang; Central Academy of Fine Arts, Beijing; Guangdong University of Foreign Studies, Guangzhou; Shanghai Open University, Shanghai; Raffles, Singapore.