Design Sprint 2023 - Circular Economy

Using knowledge, creativity and collaboration to design circular solutions to real world problems

The ADA Innovation Hub partnered with philo & co in 2023 to design and deliver an immersive two-day workshop and design sprint focusing on the circular economy. Sixty students from across the Faculty of Arts, Design & Architecture and the Faculty of Science formed 12 interdisciplinary teams to creatively problem solve and pitch circular solutions to UNSW sustainability issues.

The program was designed to acknowledge that the move to a circular economy requires not only the skills of scientists, designers and architects, but also educators, policy makers, linguists, social scientists, media experts and the arts. The training module was therefore designed to resonate with the breadth and depth of disciplines represented by the faculty of Arts, Design & Architecture.

How can we engage students with knowledge regarding Circular Economy principles and embolden them with the depth and breadth of ways these can be applied?

Through a combination of pre-work and in person workshops, students were given training in:

Design thinking process, methodology and tools
Circular Economy context and causes
Circular Economy principles and methodologies
Circular Economy systems thinking

Creativity and collaboration tips
Ideation and prototyping
Feasibility and pitching
Storytelling and narratives

To see how Innovation Hub Design Sprints work, watch our film capturing the energy and creativity of the 2023 teams.

Students that successfully completed the pre-work and both days of the sprint were awarded both AHEGS and Credly micro-credentials to share with their community and future employers

Pitching competition

The two-day program culminated in an exciting pitch night where the teams competed for a total of $11,000 in prize money. The Innovation Hub would like to acknowledge the contribution from the Faculty of Science in supporting this event.

First Place – Home Hub

A student-driven service to rehome, repurpose and recycle unwanted household goods from student accommodation.

Team members: Hannah Beaton, Himamshu Umesh, Prerna Gupta, Zhenzhuo (Star) Xian.

Second Place – Button Shop

An on-campus service that teaches you simple mending skills aimed at reducing fast fashion’s environmental footprint.

Team members: Lu Zhang, Saumya Khandelwal, Sushrut Mogarkar, Yinghan Qiu, Zixiao (Marton) Zhou

Third Place – Share-a-bite

A service that repurposes campus catering food waste and assist students struggling with cost-of-living expenses.

Team members: Damien Sinha, Jack Li, Tejas Patel, Twisha Prakashbhai Mistry

People’s Choice – REVOLVE

A UNSW clothes-swap community system.

Team members: Abeerah Saad, Anil Babu, Melanie Notaras, Nishita Joshi, Pocut Shaliha Finzia Panglima Polem, Sirin Satthatips

The Judging Panel

Professor Claire Annesley

Dean - Faculty of Arts, Design & Architecture

Scientia Professor Sven Rogge

Dean, Faculty of Science

Scientia Professor Veena Sahajwalla

Director, UNSW Centre for Sustainable Materials Research & Technology (SMaRT)