Symposium – Contested Ethics of Worlding Design and Radical Inhabitation

Problematising Human-Centred Design through Disciplinary Hybridity

About this Event

Welcome to the Symposium – Contested Ethics of Worlding Design and Radical Inhabitation
Problematising Human-Centred Design through Disciplinary Hybridity

Join us at Lecture Theatre N001, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) on 10 December 2025 at 9:00 AM (Asia/Hong_Kong) for a symposium that brings together scholars and practitioners to critically examine the ethical dimensions of design in shaping contemporary and future modes of inhabitation.

Open to students, researchers, and practitioners across disciplines, the event fosters a plural platform for dialogue and exchange, encouraging critical discussions at the intersection of ethics, design, and radical inhabitation. Situated within theory, critical humanities, and transdisciplinary practice, the symposium challenges human-centred design by framing design as an ethical and epistemic practice grounded in problematisation rather than solution-making.

Through the thematic lenses of De-signing the Design Problems of Future and Re-signing the Design Practices for Future, the programme explores how critical hybridity, radical inhabitation, and worlding practices generate new ethical imaginaries within complex technological and ecological conditions, repositioning design as a field that questions normative logics and rethinks ethical possibilities for future practice.

This is a unique opportunity to engage with design thinkers; scholars; and partitioners, expand your perspectives, and participate in meaningful cross-disciplinary dialogue. We look forward to welcoming you for an intellectually stimulating and thought-provoking day.

Welcoming and Introductio


🕑: 09:00 AM - 09:30 AM
Welcoming Refreshment and Registration

🕑: 09:30 AM - 09:40 AM
Welcome Remarks by Prof. Kun Pyo Lee

🕑: 09:40 AM - 09:50 AM
Symposium Opening Introduction

Theme 1


🕑: 09:50 AM - 12:25 PM
Theme 1 – De-signing the Design Problems of Future

🕑: 10:20 AM - 10:35 AM
Q&A

🕑: 09:50 AM - 10:20 AM
Prof. Ron Wakkary

Info: Professor, School of Interactive Arts and Technology, Simon Fraser University

🕑: 10:35 AM - 11:00 AM
ir. Veronica Ching Lee

Info: PhD Candidate, School of Design, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University

🕑: 11:00 AM - 11:25 AM
Prof. Gerhard Bruyns

Info: Associate Dean, School of Design, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University

🕑: 11:25 AM - 11:40 AM
Coffee Break

🕑: 11:40 AM - 12:25 PM
Roundtable Discussion 1

Info: Prof. Ron Wakkary; Prof. Huang Shu Wei;

Prof. Michael Chan; Prof. Angus Donald Campbell;

Prof. Gerhard Bruyns; ir. Veronica Ching Lee (Moderator)

🕑: 12:25 PM - 01:45 PM
Lunch Break

Theme 2


🕑: 01:45 PM - 04:30 PM
Re-signing the Design Practices for Future

🕑: 01:45 PM - 02:15 PM
Prof. Huang Shu Wei

Info: Assistant Professor, Trans-disciplinary Bachelor Degree Program, National Taiwan University

🕑: 02:15 PM - 02:25 PM
Q&A

🕑: 02:30 PM - 02:55 PM
Prof. Michael Chan

Info: Associate Professor of Practice, School of Design, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University

🕑: 02:55 PM - 03:20 PM
Prof. Angus Donald Campbell

Info: Associate Professor, School of Design, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University

🕑: 03:20 PM - 03:35 PM
Coffee Break

🕑: 03:35 PM - 04:20 PM
Roundtable Discussion 2

Info: Prof. Ron Wakkary; Prof. Huang Shu Wei;

Prof. Michael Chan; Prof. Angus Donald Campbell;

Prof. Gerhard Bruyns; ir. Veronica Ching Lee (Moderator)

🕑: 04:20 PM - 04:30 PM
Closing (Wrap up) + What’s Next

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