[3] ISD Rubika was founded in 1987 at Valenciennes, aiming to train designers to work in manufacturing and mass retail companies.

[citation needed] ISD is part of Rubika, a consortium of institutes including Supinfocom and Supinfogame.

[5] ISD’s Research-Transfer-Innovation unit conducts about 50 applied research projects every year with industrial, commercial and scientific partners[citation needed].

The other field of applied research concerns engineering pedagogy, developed on the basis of industrial forecasting, the evolution of tools and methods of product conception and mobility systems for goods and passengers[citation needed].

ISD has a ‘laboratory collaboration’ agreement with the Engineering Pedagogy lab of the ISEN Group.