Laura McBain

Managing Director | Hasso Plattner Institute of Design at Stanford (d.school)
Co-Director | K12 Lab

Laura McBain is a designer, educator and managing director of the Stanford d.school and co-director of the K12 Lab. She specialises in human-centred design for equitable education, fostering innovative experiences for all students in a changing world. She leads educational design challenges, creates new learning experiences for educators, and is an adjunct professor at Stanford University. As author of My Favourite Failure: How Setbacks Can Lead to Learning and Growth, she provides insights into risk-taking and shared experience of failure. Before the d.school, Laura spent 15 years at High Tech High as Director of External Relations, principal of two school sites and a founding teacher. Laura has a Bachelors from Miami University-Oxford, Ohio and Master from Harvard Graduate School of Education.

Singapore Polytechnic Media, Arts & Design School and the User Experience Centre

Singapore Polytechnic's Media, Arts & Design (MAD) School and User Experience Centre (UXC) have an extensive track record of collaborating with industry, educators, and students to champion Design Thinking as a catalyst for innovation within organisations. The MAD School has developed its unique pedagogical framework to develop Transdisciplinary Thinking, and modules from this approach were honoured with the MOE Innergy Award (Bronze) in 2022. Meanwhile, UXC partners with numerous organisations, adapting a Humanity-Centred Framework to advance design as both a philosophy and practical means for enhancing our world and quality of life.

Leading this workshop segment from MAD, we have Mark Lu (Deputy Director), Chong Li Min, (Specialist of Teaching & Learning) and Clarice Sim (Teaching & Learning Mentor); and from UXC, Tang Soo Yin (Centre Director) and Teoh Swee Bing (Assistant Director).

[From left to right in the photo, we have Clarice Sim, Mark Lu, Tang Soo Yin, Teoh Swee Bing and Chong Li Min]

MAD School: www.sp.edu.sg/mad
UXC: www.sp.edu.sg/industry/uxcMin

Aditya Batura

CEO | Rolljak

Aditya is the co-founder and CEO of Codomo, an education technology company dedicated to creating engaging 21st century learning experiences.

Under Aditya's leadership, Codomo’s first educational board games - Potato Pirates, achieved worldwide acclaim. The game garnered multiple design awards and featured on publications like The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Forbes, USA Today and Smithsonian. Aditya is now leading Rolljak, revolutionising 21st century education through gamification and AI.

Aside from running his company, he is an adjunct at Singapore University of Technology and Design where he runs Design Thinking programmes. He also competes in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu tournaments, earning two Bronze medals.

www.potatopirates.game
www.rolljak.com

Donn Koh

Co-Founder | STUCK
Senior Lecturer | Division of Industrial Design | National University of Singapore

Donn Koh, a renowned industrial designer, educator, and co-founder of STUCK Design, invented the ingenious bend-and-snap mechanism for the Microsoft Arc Touch Mouse. He was the lead industrial designer for the groundbreaking HTC Evo 4G and the Air+ Smart Mask. Recognized with an Outstanding Educator Award at the National University of Singapore, Donn fosters innovation and entrepreneurship among students. His recent development, Hypersketch, is an AI-assisted tool for swift idea generation and sketching. With enthusiasm for AI's potential, Donn guides aspiring designers in integrating AI into their creative processes, emphasising its pivotal role in the future of design.

www.stuck.sg