CODESIGN4TRANSITIONS - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Professor of Socially Responsive Design at Central Saint Martins College, University
Adam Thorpe is Professor of Socially Responsive Design at Central Saint Martins College, University of the Arts London (UAL). He is Co Director of the Design Against Crime Research Lab and Coordinator of the UAL DESIS Lab (Design for Social Innovation and Sustainability). He is Principal Investigator of the Public Collaboration Lab, a platform for teaching & learning, knowledge exchange and research focused on participatory design for social, service and policy innovation, delivered in partnership with London Borough of Camden (2015-present). Adam is the Lead Academic for MAKE, a maker space supporting creative collaboration between residents, students and other stakeholders in Somers Town (2018-present) and leads the EU H2020 funded T Factor research for UAL which explores the potential contribution of participatory approaches to temporary urbanism to more inclusive regeneration (2020-2024).
Amalia de Götzen is Associate Professor at Aalborg University in Copenhagen and member of the Service Design Lab. She graduated in Electronic Engineering at the University of Padova, and she got a PhD in Computer Science from the University of Verona. Her research activity focuses on Digital Social Innovation, particularly in data-driven service design and how current technologies can support the designer's practice and complement their toolkit. She is currently working on EU-funded research projects investigating these topics, focusing on AI, ethical frameworks, civic engagement and open data.
Job Titles:
- Design Researcher
- Director of SoRA - DASH
Dr Lara Salinas is a design researcher and educator, and co-director of Service Futures Lab at London College of Communication, University of the Arts London. She leads research on design for place-based climate action in a range of different projects across sectors. With over a decade in academia, she has played a pioneering role in shaping knowledge exchange in the creative disciplines.
Lara is also director of SoRA-DASH, a support service to increase the Societal Readiness Levels of green mobility innovations; and founder of PNK Garden, a place-making initiative in central London. Lara's work has been recognised nationally and internationally by relevant sector bodies such as the OECD Observatory for Public Sector Innovation, Joint Research Centre European Commission, UKRI/AHRC, Department for Transport, Connected Places Catapult, Design Council, Nesta, UK Policy Lab, DEFRA Design Policy Lab, UK Policy Design Profession.
In the past she has been AHRC Research Fellow in Public Service, Postdoctoral Research Fellow on Public Collaboration Lab, Postdoctoral Research Fellow on Pharma Factory. She completed her PhD at Imagination Lancaster, Lancaster University in 2016, in one of the four hubs for knowledge exchange in the creative disciplines (AHRC 2012-2016), exploring the impact of public services on placemaking. She trained in fine arts and new media art.
Dr. Judit Bényei, an associate professor, leads the Design and Visual Art Teacher MA programme at MOME. She is a lecturer and supervisor at the MOME Doctoral School. Her main research interests are critical media education, sociology of education, design pedagogy and digital museum learning. In her work, she often works with social organisations on the potential of education to compensate for disadvantage. She has a long-standing collaboration with organisations working on education for children with social disadvantages and people with disabilities. As a researcher, developer and trainer, she is one of the founders of the curriculum subject of Moving Image and Media Literacy Education in Hungarian public education, where she was responsible for the media literacy development part. Previously, she worked as a researcher at the Centre for Information Society and Trends Research, Budapest University of Technology, Budapest.
Job Titles:
- Professor in Interaction Design
Ph.D. in Computer Science, Francesca Rizzo is full professor in Interaction Design and Users Studies, and Recor's international relationships delegate for European Research Projects. She researches on the application of Design Thinking in public sector innovation and how co-design triggers organisational changes. She coordinated and partook in many EU projects and authored several national and international publications on the topic. On these topics, she is coordinating the HE project ORBIS and co-oordinated the H2020 SISCODE. She has been responsible and member of research teams in many EU projects in the fields of Service Design, Smart City and Social Innovation, user led innovation - recent projects are NetZeroCities, easyRights, the CEF AI4GOV, the ESPON Digiser, the DG CNECT GovTech, SEED, and RoadSTEMer.
She is author of many articles published in international journals and conferences. She is the Editor of the book published by Springer (2016) on Human Smart Cities.
Job Titles:
- Head of the Center for Policy Design
Karol is Head of the Center for Policy Design and Evaluation (C4PDE) and Professor at the University of Social Sciences and Humanities SWPS. He holds a Ph.D. in public policy sciences and is the co-founder of the research company Evaluation for Government Organizations SC (EGO). Scientifically, he deals with designing citizen-friendly solutions and evaluating the effectiveness of public policies. In his research and educational work he uses games, experiments and behavioural design. He has twenty years of experience in conducting research and training for Polish, EU, American and Canadian public institutions. He has cooperated as an expert, among others, with the European Commission, the World Bank, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the American National Science Foundation and a number of Polish ministries and local government institutions, including the Chancellery of the Prime Minister of the Republic of Poland, the Ministry of Funds and Regional Policy, the Polish Agency for Enterprise Development, the National Science Center and the National Research and Development Center. He is the author of a number of scientific publications, including the six-volume series "Learning Ministries". He has published articles in such international journals as "Evaluation", "American Journal of Evaluation", "Policy & Politics". At SWPS University, he teaches classes on introduction to public policies, academic culture and Academic Writing.
Job Titles:
- Professor of Design at RMIT University
Laurene Vaughan is Professor of Design at RMIT University. She is a practicing artist, designer and educator, who through her research explores and presents comment on the interactive and situated nature of human experience. Laurene has extensive experience in design research, publications and the supervision of doctoral students. She has been awarded over $2.2million in competitive research funding. ORCID 000-0003-2642-9967
Luca works as a researcher, educator, entrepreneur and professional consultant across interaction and service design, design management and innovation management - with a particular interest in critical and strategic thinking. He currently serves as an Associate Professor at Aalborg University, where his core focus is on how design and arts can support personal, organisational and community resilience, innovation, transition thinking, long-term strategic orientation and positive and impactful change. He has carried out research, teaching and consulting activities at various universities (Harvard, MIT, Stanford, Polytechnic University of Milan, Malmö University and University of the Arts London), (co)authoring and (co)editing some 80 publications. He has founded and managed successful companies and award-winning design-driven firms operating in more than 30 countries and with commercial hubs in Milan, Singapore, Toronto and Doha (key clients include Procter & Gamble, Unilever, Dior, Sony). He also helps private and public organizations (e.g. the European Commission, World Bank, Research Council of Canada, UNICEF and the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research) to define strategies, policies, and funding schemes to foster innovation.
Job Titles:
- Professor at the Department of Graphic Design
Mariusz Wszołek is a Professor at the Department of Graphic Design at the University of Social Sciences and Humanities SWPS. He is Vice-director of the Institute of Design, Vice-dean for student affairs, and Head of the Graphic Design Department. His fields of study are theory and practice of communication design and alternative doctrines. He is an author of books and occasional consultant in the field of strategic design and communication. His scientific work is mainly focused on issues related to social communication, communication design and design theory. In particular, he is interested in the decentralisation and democratisation of contemporary design practices and alternative design doctrines (e.g. legal design) on the way to social and environmental sustainability. He has dealt with, among others, social perception of the advertising message, market differences in advertising, visual strategies, studies on packaging from the perspective of communication, or contemporary theories of communication design. Currently, he deals with the topic of legal design and challenges related to design education. He is also working on a monograph entitled "Design Education" which will be released in 2024.
Job Titles:
- Professor at the Department of Architecture
Nicola Morelli is Professor at the Department of Architecture, Design and Media Technology (AD:MT) at Aalborg University. He is the director of the Service Design Lab at AAU - CPH. Previously he has worked at RMIT University (Australia) and Politecnico di Milano (Italy). He has worked on several EU-Funded projects as project leader or work package coordinator. He has also worked on Scandinavian and Danish national research projects. Nicola Morelli has been working on design for the service sector, focusing on user involvement and co-production, use of open data in service design, design for social innovation and sustainability, methodological aspects and new communication and representation techniques for service design. In his activity, he has collaborated with several public and private organisations in Denmark and in Europe. He is a member of the executive board of the Cumulus International Association (2022-2025).
Niki Wallace is a researcher, educator and designer whose research focuses on just transitions with an interest in co-creation, regenerative cultures, circularity and relational principles as core aspects of these transitions. As Interim Programme Director of Graphic Design/Course Leader of MA Global Collaborative Design Practice, Wallace supports students' development of the critical collaborative skills needed to realise regenerative and just futures. Wallace's prior teaching experience spans undergraduate and postgraduate design in studio, research methods, consumer culture and critical design theory at University of South Australia. Wallace is the founder of Net Zero Lab, a living lab collective of designers and researchers who practice emergent approaches to low-contact co-design, regenerative futures and transition design. Wallace's PhD focused on design's acceleration of the consumption and waste problem by examining ‘what it takes' to redirect design practices towards transitions. Since then, Wallace has pursued research with a focus on activating transitions towards just futures, developing methods for expanded collaboration, and nurturing regenerative cultures.
Job Titles:
- Professor in Design for Social Innovation
Ramia Mazé is Professor in Design for Social Innovation and Sustainability at London College of Communication, University of the Arts London (UAL). She holds a PhD in Interaction Design from Malmö University. Since 2016, she has been an editor of the leading scholarly journal Design Issues. Currently, Ramia's research focuses on methods and roles of design in policy, sustainable development and just climate transitions. Over her 20+ year career, her research has spanned multiple disciplines but centres on design that is participatory, critical and politically-engaged. For example, she has researched participatory design and design for social innovation in terms of the political and power aspects of practice in particular public contexts. Pursuing these topics, she has led, published, and exhibited widely through a variety of interdisciplinary and international research projects and cultural initiatives. Methodologically, she specialises in practice-based research as well as critical and feminist epistemologies. Her research includes studies of design education and design research (doctoral) education. She has collaborated with scholars and practitioners in policymaking, sustainable development, and, in particular, futures studies.
Job Titles:
- Director of the Research Centre for Environment
Sebastian Oberthür is the Director of the Research Centre for Environment, Economy and Energy, and Professor for Environment and Sustainable Development at the Brussels School of Governance. He is also Professor of Environmental Policy and Law at the Centre for Climate Change, Energy and Environmental Law at the University of Eastern Finland. Sebastian Oberthür studied political science in Marburg and Berlin. He received a PhD from the Free University Berlin for his work on "The Contribution of International Regimes to Solving Environmental Problems" (summa cum laude). Trained as a political scientist with a strong background in international law, he focuses on issues of international and European climate and environmental governance. Sebastian Oberthür has published widely on related subjects and is invited regularly as an expert to participate in and speak at relevant conferences and workshops. He serves on the editorial boards and review panels of various journals and as a reviewer of several national science foundations. He is also co-editor of the book series on "The European Union in International Affairs" with Palgrave Macmillan.
Job Titles:
- Professor and Co - Founder of the Social Design Research Unit at the University of Southern Denmark
Thomas Markussen is Professor and Co-Founder of the Social Design Research Unit at the University of Southern Denmark. The unit has strong competences in practice-based design research and its awarded social innovation work has been fully implemented in public sector institutions. In his written work, Markussen focuses on how design can be used as a political and critical aesthetic practice, notably in the fields of social design, design activism and design fiction. Publications include journal articles such as "The disruptive aesthetics of design activism: enacting design between art and politics" (Design Issues); "Disentangling the ‘social' in social design's engagement with the public realm" (CoDesign); and "The politics of design activism - from impure politics to parapolitics" published in Routledge's book "Design and Dissent".
Job Titles:
- Director of the Research Centre for Digitalisation
Trisha Meyer is the Director of the Research Centre for Digitalisation, Democracy and Innovation, Academic Coordinator of the Jean Monnet Winter and Summer Schools on EU Policy-Making, and Assistant Professor of Digital Governance and Participation at the Brussels School of Governance. She is also the principal investigator of the EDMO BELUX project, an EU-funded hub on research, fact-checking and media literacy on online disinformation in Belgium and Luxembourg (2021-2027). Trisha researches the regulatory push toward and societal consequences of tech platforms taking proactive (automated) measures to moderate online content. A second closely related research strand pertains to stakeholder engagement and participatory governance in digital policy. At the Vrije Universiteit Brussel she teaches the courses on the European Union, Platform and Algorithmic Governance, and Internet Censorship, Control & Governance. Trisha obtained her PhD in Media and Communication Studies from the Vrije Universiteit Brussel. She was a Senior Researcher at the University of Turku (Faculty of Law) in 2013-2015, a Fernandes Fellow at the University of Warwick (Department of Politics and International Studies) in 2020-2021. She is currently a Professorial Fellow at the United Nations University-CRIS in Bruges.