Research Culture

At IADT, research begins with curiosity and grows through experimentation. We have built a collaborative culture where researchers are supported to explore ideas freely and to respond creatively and critically to the most compelling societal challenges of our time.

We understand research as a dynamic and inclusive process of enquiry that generates new knowledge, insight, and creative innovation. Our approach is shaped by national and international frameworks and defined by the distinctive mix of academic, artistic, and professional disciplines that makes IADT unique.

Research at IADT is transdisciplinary by design. It thrives on methodological diversity, critical reflection, and creative exploration.

We recognise that understanding develops through many forms of thinking and making — from writing and publication to exhibitions, performances, film and sound works, design prototypes, policy work, public engagement, and experimental hybrid practices. Each contributes meaningfully to knowledge, culture, and society. Together, these practices reflect the imaginative range and intellectual depth of IADT’s research community.

Through the TU RISE Elevate programme, IADT is developing a vibrant and connected RDI ecosystem that places research at the heart of our institutional mission. This ecosystem reflects our belief in the transformative potential of creative and critical practice to generate new ways of understanding the world, now and in the future, and it enables IADT to realise its ambition to reimagine and reshape the future of the creative industries.