Sustainability as a theme of interdisciplinarity between design and engineering courses

This paper aims to present the interdisciplinary interactions between design students (Master in Product and Industrial Design - MDIP) and engineering students (Integrated Master in Environmental Engineering - MIEA) at the Faculty of Engineering of the University of Porto (FEUP), Portugal, through the development of an academic project based on the environmental sustainability pillar. The experience reported here includes a description of the project methodology, shared information, tools used in the analysis, and results obtained in quantifying and assessing the environmental impacts of the product. The outcome was an extra motivation to learn and incorporate environmental concerns in design. With this experience, students could understand the importance of the interdisciplinary methodology to develop rigorous projects to more environmental sound products.