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This paper arises from observations made by the principal author, while on a recent sabbatical at the University of California at Santa Barbara, USA, regarding innovation-led undergraduate design teaching. This paper reports parallel educational approaches with those used in the UK in terms of design management and industry-led design for manufacture small group projects led by leading industrialists. However, this paper reports changes in the core mechanical engineering curriculum within the fields of micro-electronic mechanical systems and life sciences, not prevalent within the UK. In both of these areas, there is a need for cross-disciplinary bridging courses, which introduce new vocabulary, scientific principles, and experimental techniques. These courses require space to be created in what are often overcrowded curricula. This paper presents solutions to these problems so that new approaches can be developed for innovation-led design education within these cross-disciplinary fields. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]