ADW Future Design Scholars Program
People

People and community

The ADW Future Design Scholars Program brings together the people who guide the Program, the Scholars whose research it supports, and a growing academic and practice network connecting ideas across institutions, disciplines, and cultures.

2026 Committee

Program Committee

The Program Committee brings together eight members with experience across design education, research, technology, culture, sustainability, and professional practice. The Committee provides academic guidance, supports the Program’s development, and also serves as the Review Committee for the 2026 Fellowship cycle.

Program Committee

Pradyumna Vyas

President, World Design Organization (WDO)

Senior Advisor, Design Promotion and Innovation, Confederation of Indian Industry

India
Program Committee

Tom Northey

University for the Creative Arts

Associate Dean, School of Creative and Cultural Industries

United Kingdom
Program Committee

Jr Neville Songwe

Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD)

Chair, Industrial Design

United States
Program Committee

Yu, Eun Mi

Semyung University

Professor and Head, Department of Interior Design

South Korea
Program Committee

Anirban Chowdhury

Alliance University

Professor, School of Design and Creative Arts

India
Program Committee

Henry Duh

School of Design, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University

Associate Dean (Global and Industry Engagement), Professor

Hong Kong
Program Committee

Goh Yi Sheng

School of Architecture and Design, Sunway University

Associate Professor; Head of School and Head of Department

Malaysia
Program Committee

Akarapon Kritruenonwong

Associate Dean for Administration, College of Design, Rangsit University

President, Thai Graphic Designers Association (ThaiGa)

Thailand
Portrait of Pradyumna Vyas, member of the ADW Future Design Scholars Program Committee.
Program Committee 2026 Fellowship Review Committee

Pradyumna Vyas

President, World Design Organization (WDO)

Senior Advisor, Design Promotion and Innovation, Confederation of Indian Industry

India

Pradyumna Vyas is President of the World Design Organization and Senior Advisor for Design Promotion and Innovation at the Confederation of Indian Industry. He served as Director of the National Institute of Design from 2009 to 2019 and has worked across design education, national design policy, institutional development, sustainability, and international cooperation for nearly four decades. His public service has included contributing to the India Design Council and the development of the India Design Mark. His experience connects institutional leadership with the development of design systems, policy, education, and professional exchange at national and international levels.

Institutional profile Asia Design Week source
Portrait of Tom Northey, member of the ADW Future Design Scholars Program Committee.
Program Committee 2026 Fellowship Review Committee

Tom Northey

University for the Creative Arts

Associate Dean, School of Creative and Cultural Industries

United Kingdom

Tom Northey is Associate Dean of the School of Creative and Cultural Industries at the University for the Creative Arts. Over more than two decades in higher education, he has led academic programs, international partnerships, and creative-industry collaborations. A graphic designer and brand consultant, he has worked with organisations including the BBC, British Airways, Nike, Tate Britain, and Virgin. His research explores generative and parametric systems across graphic form, sound, performance, and computational making. His experience joins academic leadership with professional practice and supports exchange among design education, creative technologies, cultural production, and international collaboration.

Institutional profile Asia Design Week source
Portrait of Jr Neville Songwe, member of the ADW Future Design Scholars Program Committee.
Program Committee 2026 Fellowship Review Committee

Jr Neville Songwe

Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD)

Chair, Industrial Design

United States

Jr Neville Songwe is Chair of Industrial Design at the Savannah College of Art and Design. He previously taught at the Rhode Island School of Design, where he earned a Master of Industrial Design, and studied industrial design and visual communication at ISIA in Italy. His academic and professional practice spans product design, UX and UI, social design, digital design, and design-led entrepreneurship. He is the founder of Joneso Design and holds multiple United States utility patents. His experience connects design education with practice, invention, and the development of ideas across physical products, digital experiences, and entrepreneurial contexts.

Institutional profile Asia Design Week source
Portrait of Yu, Eun Mi, member of the ADW Future Design Scholars Program Committee.
Program Committee 2026 Fellowship Review Committee

Yu, Eun Mi

Semyung University

Professor and Head, Department of Interior Design

South Korea

Yu, Eun Mi is Professor and Head of the Department of Interior Design at Semyung University. She holds a doctorate in environmental color and has developed a long-standing body of research and practice across color theory, environmental color, public design, and spatial design. Her academic and professional service has included public and landscape design committees in South Korea, and she served as President of the Korea Society of Color Studies from 2022 to 2025. Her work brings together research, teaching, professional service, and the application of color and spatial knowledge within public and designed environments.

Institutional profile Asia Design Week source
Portrait of Anirban Chowdhury, member of the ADW Future Design Scholars Program Committee.
Program Committee 2026 Fellowship Review Committee

Anirban Chowdhury

Alliance University

Professor, School of Design and Creative Arts

India

Anirban Chowdhury is Professor in the School of Design and Creative Arts at Alliance University and contributes to the university's work in immersive technologies. His research and teaching connect ergonomics, user experience, human-computer interaction, neurodesign, human factors, and design management. Across these areas, he is interested in how evidence from human behaviour and cognition can inform more responsive products, interfaces, and design systems. His interdisciplinary perspective links design decisions to the ways people perceive, use, and respond to technology, supporting research that moves between human-centred inquiry and emerging forms of interaction.

Institutional profile Asia Design Week source
Portrait of Henry Duh, member of the ADW Future Design Scholars Program Committee.
Program Committee 2026 Fellowship Review Committee

Henry Duh

School of Design, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University

Associate Dean (Global and Industry Engagement), Professor

Hong Kong

Henry Duh is Associate Dean (Global and Industry Engagement) and Professor in the School of Design at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University. With academic training across psychology, industrial design, and engineering, and postdoctoral experience at NASA's Johnson Space Center, his work bridges design research and emerging technology. He directs interdisciplinary research in augmented and virtual reality, human-computer interaction, interaction design, and human-centred media systems. His academic and industry engagement brings together multiple forms of expertise, with particular attention to how immersive and interactive technologies can be studied, designed, and applied through human-centred approaches.

Institutional profile Asia Design Week source
Portrait of Goh Yi Sheng, member of the ADW Future Design Scholars Program Committee.
Program Committee 2026 Fellowship Review Committee

Goh Yi Sheng

School of Architecture and Design, Sunway University

Associate Professor; Head of School and Head of Department

Malaysia

Goh Yi Sheng is Associate Professor, Head of School, and Head of Department at Sunway University's School of Architecture and Design. She holds a doctorate in Consumer and Design Sciences from Auburn University. Her research examines design for longevity, resilience, and well-being, alongside consumer aesthetics, community sustainability, placemaking, and cultural and creative research. Her work connects design inquiry with the social and environmental conditions that shape everyday life. Through academic leadership, teaching, and research, she brings attention to how design can support communities, strengthen place-based understanding, and respond to changing patterns of living and environmental responsibility.

Institutional profile Asia Design Week source
Portrait of Akarapon Kritruenonwong, member of the ADW Future Design Scholars Program Committee.
Program Committee 2026 Fellowship Review Committee

Akarapon Kritruenonwong

Associate Dean for Administration, College of Design, Rangsit University

President, Thai Graphic Designers Association (ThaiGa)

Thailand

Akarapon Kritruenonwong is President of the Thai Graphic Designers Association and Associate Dean for Administration at the College of Design, Rangsit University. A graphic designer and educator, his work spans identity systems, typography, communication design, brand practice, and contemporary media. His recent practice and teaching consider how visual systems can operate across digital, real-time, and cross-platform environments. His roles connect professional design culture with higher education, bringing practical and academic perspectives to questions of visual communication, evolving media, and the ways designers work across institutions, technologies, and regional public contexts.

Institutional profile Asia Design Week source
Learn about the 2026 selection process
Inaugural Cohort

Future Design Scholars

The first ADW Future Design Scholars and their research projects will be announced at the inaugural ADW Future Design Scholars Forum in Kuala Lumpur in late November 2026. Following the official presentation, this page will become the home of Scholar profiles, research projects, host environments, and future updates.

Network

Academic and Practice Network

The Program is developing relationships across universities, research institutes, laboratories, design schools, cultural organisations, publishers, professional bodies, and independent practice. As these relationships take shape, this section will introduce the people and institutions contributing to research hosting, exchange, mentoring, public programs, and the communication of knowledge.

UniversitiesResearch InstitutesDesign SchoolsCultural OrganisationsPublishersProfessional BodiesIndependent Practice
Malaysia Design Council logo Malaysian Graphic Design Association logo Korea Ensemble of Contemporary Design logo Korea Society of Illustration Research logo Korea Society of Color Studies logo European Product Design Award logo University of the Arts Sharjah logo Golden Pin Design Award logo Industrial Designers Association of Taipei logo Hong Kong Designers Association logo Vietnam Design Association logo Association of Designers of India logo Industrial Designers Society of Thailand logo Indonesian Graphic Designers Association logo Indonesian Industrial Product Designers Alliance logo

The organisations shown are drawn from the current authorised ADW network. Specific Program contributions will be identified as individual relationships are confirmed.

Collaborate with the Program