As the MAKEAWARE! project enters its final phase, this event opens a space for reflection on the challenges and insights that have emerged around data collection and use within design practices—particularly in healthcare contexts.
“Design Perspectives on Digital Healthcare” is a conversation-based event that brings together five leading experts in design research, working at the intersection of participatory practices, data ethics, and health.

Organised by the Institute of Design (IDe) at SUPSI, it marks the concluding moment of the MAKEAWARE! research project.
Through short presentations and an open dialogue format, the invited speakers will share their work and perspectives, fostering a collective discussion on the ethical, methodological, and practical implications of designing within sensitive settings.

MAKEAWARE! is an initiative developed at the Institute Design of the University of Applied Sciences and Arts of Southern Switzerland starting in 2022 and planned to end in 2025. Its mission is to engage citizens and empower patients in the fight against Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) through grassroots co-creation of data and information. By employing hands-on and data-driven activities, MAKEAWARE! fosters participation and raises awareness of AMR-related issues.
The MAKEAWARE! initiative is one of four subprojects within SPEARHEAD, an Innosuisse-funded project that brings together a consortium of eight public and four private Swiss institutions to combat Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR). SPEARHEAD—Swiss Pandemic & AMR Health Economy Awareness Detect—is based on a multidisciplinary research-driven approach that integrates digital solutions with a patient-centric approach, focusing on antimicrobial stewardship and prevention.

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Arthi Manohar is a Senior Lecturer and Director of BSc Product Design at Brunel Design School. Her research explores the intersection of social design and technology, with a focus on participatory and user-centered design. Arthi’s work addresses complex socio-digital challenges, from designing for trust to embedding human values in digital systems. She is also an active contributor to the HCI research community and serves as the Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Leas for the Brunel Design School.

Aylin Yildirim Tschoepe is a design anthropologist, founder of metaLAB (at) Basel, and professor at the Basel Academy of Art and Design FHNW. With a background spanning anthropology, architecture, gender and urban studies, her work bridges disciplines to explore themes such as care, migration, posthuman collaboration, and urban transformation. As head of research in designXsciences, she leads collaborative projects at the intersection of design, technology, life and social sciences. She also edits the Urban Anthropology Unbound series, championing experimental and multimodal ethnographic approaches.

Laura Ferrarello is a Design Researcher and Academic. She teaches at the EPFL Doctoral School the course “The Practice of Ethics in Engineering Research and Practice. Her work explores how design can foster dialogue between technology, society, and the environment, with a focus on ethics, governance, and complexity. Previously, she led the Master in Design Research at the Royal College of Art. Laura’s practice uses design as a tool for systemic change, promoting ethical innovation through dialogue and interdisciplinary collaboration.

Teresa Almeida is an Invited Associate Professor at Técnico University of Lisbon and a member of the DCentral Lab. Her interdisciplinary, design-led research explores human-data interaction and social justice informatics, with a focus on intimate data and marginalised communities. Drawing from human-computer interaction (HCI), feminist social and technology studies (STS), and craft-based practices, she creates interventions that blend materiality, interaction, and technology to reimagine inclusive futures.

Paulina Yurmane is a Wellcome Research Fellow, designer, and lecturer at Central Saint Martins in London. Her work explores how we live with technology in everyday life, focusing on care, family, and ambivalence. She leads Maternal Machines, a Wellcome-funded project investigating future imaginaries of maternal and infant care. Her research blends critical design with speculative methods to question and reimagine our relationships with technology.

June 4th, 2025
H 14:00 - 17:30

DACD Library (room A1.18-19)
University of Applied Sciences and Arts of Southern Switzerland (SUPSI)
Via Flora Ruchat-Roncati 15
Mendrisio - CH

Participation is free and open to anyone interested in data ethics, participatory design, and the evolving role of design in healthcare.
No registration is required.
If you need more details, get in touch at makeaware.ide@supsi.ch