Introduction
The Interactive Environments Minor offers a unique opportunity to learn how to design, engineer, prototype, and test innovative and complex interactive environments. It provides a platform for students to critically reflect on the societal and cultural implications of these environments, exploring how digital technologies enable dynamic interactions that redefine the way people engage with their surroundings. Through a learning-by-doing approach and project-based teaching, this minor emphasises hands-on experience while giving the students the freedom to shape their own learning focus and process, fostering creativity, professional autonomy and personal growth. It also places a strong emphasis on learning multidisciplinary teamwork, encouraging collaboration across diverse fields to develop holistic and impactful solutions.
The concept of an environment is central to this minor. Broadly speaking, an environment refers to everything that surrounds and influences individuals. Specific adjectives are often used to narrow its meaning, such as natural environment, which refers to untouched elements of nature, or built environment, which describes human-made structures like buildings, roads, and bridges. A social environment, on the other hand, focuses on the influence of other people, whether direct or indirect. The term interactive environment involves the above notions, but emphasises how various parts of the environment interact dynamically with each other and with people, often through the integration of advanced digital technologies.
Such environments can be found in forms such as interactive art installations, smart homes, or automated office spaces, where technology enables real-time responses and innovative functionalities. Interactive environments often leave a lasting impression, inspiring the idea that even greater possibilities and experiences could be created by pushing the boundaries of interactive technologies.
The Interactive Environments Minor not only delves into these cutting-edge concepts but also equips students with the tools to bring them to life. Through interdisciplinary collaboration, participants learn to create and evaluate interactive environments while navigating the challenges of working across different fields. The program offers the freedom to explore personal interests while fostering skills essential for teamwork and innovation. Below, further details are provided about key aspects of the minor and its distinctive focus on blending design, technology, and critical reflection.
The minor is part of the Industrial Design Engineering bachelor program at TU Delft and takes place during the first semester of the third year. The semester-long course, referred to as a minor, allows students to either gain work experience or broaden their academic and professional horizons. A wide range of minors is available, providing students with the flexibility to select one that aligns with their interests and career goals. General information about enrollment and the current minor offerings can be found online.
FACILITIES AT THE SCIENCE CENTER
The Interactive Environments minor and the Science Centre Delft have initiated close cooperation. The Science Centre Delft is the institution that acts as an interface between the Delft University of Technology and the general public. Its mission is to open up and share cutting-edge science and research of TU Delft with people of all ages and all social backgrounds. In this framework you work in a dedicated design studio, where prototypes of the Interactive Environments minor will be fabricated, assembled and tested, while at the same time these become immediately exposed to the curious public.
Visitors of the Science Centre Delft can meet you while you work, help with testing of prototypes and acquire understanding of these new kinds of interactive environments.
Visitors of the Science Center are treated as design partners as well. Therefore you constantly expose your process and intermediate results. By means of verbal explanations, demonstrations and through exhibiting outcomes of the minor program.
Among the facilities the Science Centre are the following: a unique design studio, access to its fabrication laboratory with all kinds of tools such as a laser cutter machine and 3D printers, and lastly free coffee or tea.
ABOUT OUR DESIGN STUDIO
The Science Centre Delft has a unique design studio which is the home of the interactive environments minor in the autumn semester.
Through clever design the studio has maximum possibilities for changing the space, students can drill in the floor, wall and hang things from the ceiling.
The studio is accessible for minor students beyond the normal educational hours so also in the weekend.
With all of these great facilities comes responsibility. You expose your process and results to the public of the Science Centre Delft by any means possible. During the use of the studio you are a member of the Science Center team observing the rules of the public place, eg. keep things safe for the visitng children.
multi-disciplinary teamwork
The minor is organised from the Industrial Design Faculty of the TUDelft. However, the coaches involved with the minor come from various backgrounds – not only design. We acknowledge that design teams will more and more consist of people from different backgrounds. People with expertise in Psychology, Architecture, Software Engineering, Design, Mechanical Engineering and other relevant disciplines form a team to answer a design challenge.
The minor is an excellent form to experience the collaboration with students from different disciplines. Thought the program of the minor we have a special focus on making the differences visible and manageable.