Prof. Kin Wai Michael Siu is the endowed Eric C. Yim Professor in Inclusive Design and Chair Professor of Public Design. An established international authority at the intersection of technological innovation, engineering, and human-centred design, he is uniquely distinguished by his dual background spanning both engineering and design. This distinctive interdisciplinary expertise is reflected in his professional credentials as a Chartered Engineer, Chartered Designer, and Chartered Manager of the United Kingdom, as well as his election as a Fellow of leading global institutions, including the Institution of Engineering and Technology, the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, the Design Research Society, the Chartered Society of Designers, the Royal Society of Arts, the Royal Geographical Society, and the Hong Kong Institution of Engineers.

Prof. Siu’s stellar academic background is highlighted by an extraordinary series of prestigious global appointments. He has conducted research as a Fulbright Scholar at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, an ASIA Fellow at the National University of Singapore, and a Visiting Scholar at the University of Cambridge and the University of California, Berkeley. Within Greater China, he serves as a Visiting Professor at the region's most elite institutions, including Tsinghua University and the Central Academy of Fine Arts. His academic leadership is further demonstrated by his tenure as Associate Dean and his service as a panel member for both the Engineering and the Humanities Panels of the Hong Kong Research Grants Council.

As a pioneering leader in his field, Prof. Siu founded the groundbreaking Public Design Lab. A dedicated educator and mentor, he has supervised over 100 postgraduate students to graduation and currently guides a robust research group of 25 PhD candidates as chief supervisor. His research paradigm successfully bridges creative design with technological application, placing him at the top of his field in securing competitive external research funding.

His breakthrough achievements have earned him profound global recognition. Conferred as a “Champion of Inclusive Design” by the Include Global Network, his research has directly shaped public policy and community welfare. Among his most celebrated design breakthroughs are the pioneering Filtainer® water filtration container, co-developed with an engineering team from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology to support disadvantaged communities in Nepal, and a specialized Chinese chess set for the visually impaired—adopted as the official Chinese National Standard and designated for use in the National Paralympic Games. Additionally, his award-winning road bollard invention FlexiBOL®, representing a major breakthrough in safety engineering and design for dynamic urban settings, has been widely implemented in public spaces by the Hong Kong SAR Government.

A highly prolific innovator, Prof. Siu is the sole holder of more than 50 United States and international patents and has published over 500 papers in top-tier peer-reviewed journals. His translational design-technology innovations have received over 100 prestigious international design and invention awards, including the Crystal Cabin Award, the Red Dot Awards, D&AD, the Geneva Industrial Design Prize, and the Geneva Invention Awards, cementing his reputation as a transformative leader in the global design community.

Detailed Profile>>

Selected Publications>>

• Public Design
• Design Research Methods