Open Panel Evening: School of Design

What to expect

Offer holders and applicants are invited to join academic staff and alumni in a panel discussion and audience Q&A, followed by networking drinks. Join the conversation as we ask what's on the horizon for design practice? What's next for designers in industry and society? What skills and perspectives will equip design students, and how can they build these at the RCA?

The panel will feature recent alumni from our School of Design, see speakers below.

Those holding an offer to come study at the RCA are invited to join for an exclusive drinks reception to continue conversations with tutors and staff.

Speakers

Sophia Shen
Service Design MA alum
Services Employee Engagement at Apple
After graduation from the RCA in August, I started working at Apple in September last year on the Services Employee Engagement Team, supporting employees' personal growth and improving their experiences working in the company. Apart from this I am also working on a personal project/startup related to AI pet. In general, my areas of interest within design includes: experience design (UX), service design, and social design.

Harielle Atana Lindor
Fashion MA alum
Designer
The foundation of each of my projects begins with an already existing story. Whether that story is found through literature, music, or history. Ideas are created through the reinterpretation of these stories and the imagery found during my research processes. Re-evaluating and reshaping past ideas, my outcomes become a collection of found narratives. These reinterpretations are translated into a more contemporary language, through garments and artefacts. These outcomes are always created through collaboration, as I enjoy engaging with a variety of different disciplines in order to better understand my own practice. My approach to design relies on the reflection of my past ideas, as well as the past ideas of those I've worked with or works I've come across in my research. I've worked with those in jewellery, metal art, sound design, photography, and videography.

Hume Howe
Design Products MA alum
Product designer, Founder, and Tutor
I’m the founder of LiteDrive, a bicycle gearbox company, and a design tutor at Brunel University. I started my design journey while I was a researcher studying quantum transistors. Designing custom equipment for my scientific research led to a fascination with design. Whilst at the RCA, I developed a particular interest in the challenge of design for manufacturing and the use of technology for rapid prototyping and high-fidelity modelling. I’m interested in where design practice is heading as these new tools become available. As a cyclist and an enthusiast of ultralight and bespoke outdoor gear, I founded LiteDrive to make commuting easier and more appealing. But more than that, I want to be part of the bigger solution to the last-mile problem.

Ori Neokleous
Innovation Design Engineering MA alum
Studio Co-founder and Software Engineer
Orestis Neokleous is an engineer, designer, and researcher passionate about merging creativity and science for human impact. With a background in design and electronic engineering, he contributes to visionary projects across software and product development, and interdisciplinary research. He has collaborated on diverse ventures, including roles at GSK, Setmixer, Dotplot, and Epicue. His latest venture is a product development and experience design studio called Blurry Works based in Wandsworth Town.

Where to go

This event will be hosted at our Battersea campus. Full address: 1 Hester Road, London, England SW11 4AY

What to expect

• 18:00 Arrivals & networking
• 18:30 Welcome by Dr John Stevens, School of Design
• 18:35 Series of brief presentations from panel guests
• 19:00 Panel discussion and audience Q&A
• 20:00 Possibility to speak to RCA staff about applying to the College

Offer holders only

• 20:00 Drinks reception for RCA offer holders
• 21:00 Close

How to book

You can book a free ticket via this link.