UNSW Built Environment invites our undergraduate and postgraduate students to attend our monthly professorial talks series, Meeting of the Minds.
The faculty’s accomplished professors from across all the Built Environment disciplines will speak on how their latest research and practice offers new perspectives on the UNSW Grand Challenge on Rapid Urbanisation.
The grand challenge will be examined through the interdisciplinary lenses of the built environment research and practice - from the smallest to the largest scales, from the room and the objects within it to the cities and landscapes we inhabit.
Next event: Wednesday, 5 June, 1pm – 1.30 pm followed by networking and afternoon tea
Speaker: Professor Oya Demirbilek
Topic: How can industrial design contribute to the design of better cities for all?
Oya Demirbilek is a Professor in Industrial Design at UNSW who is passionate about the ways industrial design can enhance life for everyone, and in particular for an aging population. She loves teaching about design research methods, universal design and empathy. Her teaching methods enable students to articulate their own design process and personal values in the context of enhancing their empathy towards people and environments.
Oya held various positions at UNSW. She was the Associate Dean of Education at the Built Environment (2013-17) and prior to this, she was Discipline Director for Industrial Design (2006-09) and Program Director for the Master of Industrial Design and the Master of Science (Industrial Design) Postgraduate Coursework Programs (2002-05).
Prior to joining UNSW, Oya was Assistant Professor at the Middle East Technical University (METU), where she previously held a Lecturer position (1997-99), and a Research Assistant position (1990-97). She also held an Instructor position in Product Design, at the prestigious Art Center College of Design (Europe), La Tour-de-Peilz, Switzerland (1989-90).
Oya brings many years of teaching, research, and freelance design work to her current role, along with a European perspective.
| 5th June | Prof Oya Demirbilek: How can industrial design contribute to the design of better cities for all? |
| 3rd July | Prof Sisi Zlatanova: What is the role of 3D geospatial information in analysing and supporting the processes of rapid urbanisation? |
| 7th Aug | Prof Deo Prasad: How can we have massive urbanisation while reducing carbon footprint of cities? |
| 4th Sept | tbc |
| 2nd Oct | Prof Hal Pawson: How can housing supply respond to the demands of rapid urbanisation? |
| 6th Nov | Prof Catherine Bridge: How will rapid urbanisation affect the vulnerable people, performance as a measure towards inclusion? |
