Symposium and Exhibition
The World Health Organisation defines an environmentally sustainable health system as one that “improves, maintains or restores health, while minimizing negative impacts on the environment and leveraging opportunities to restore and improve it, to the benefit of the health and well-being of current and future generations.” Within the healthcare sector, environmental sustainability occurs when resources are used as efficiently as possible, without compromising the quality of care for patients. Our health is dependent on our natural and built environments. However, hospitals and healthcare facilities, due to the use significant amounts of energy and water as well as the generation of large volumes of waste, can have negative impacts on the environment.
At the beginning of June 2024, 100+ design and health students from 4 Australian universities (University of Technology Sydney, Queensland University of Technology, University of Canberra and Monash University); one institution in Dubai (Mohammed Bin Rashid University of Medicine and Health Sciences) and one institution in Taiwan (Tatung University) met in Malaysia to work with local students at Taylor’s University (Malaysia) and Nanyang Polytechnic (Singapore) to research and create new and innovative sustainable design solutions on the topic of Sustainability in Healthcare. They learned about this topic through presentations by global experts from Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Australia, UK, Taiwan and UAE at the Design for Change: Sustainability in Healthcare Symposium at Taylor’s University in Malaysia on 11 June 2024. They then travelled to Singapore where they chose a topic and selected cross-cultural and multi-disciplinary teams.
In Singapore, students visited hospitals and care homes to observe the challenges and opportunities in these spaces. Students were challenged, not only to look at the healthcare system from a multidisciplinary perspective, but to form a deeper understanding of the cultural backgrounds of the populations explored to create inclusive and universal tools that work within and across cultural boundaries. The innovative and unique solutions presented in the Design for Change: Sustainability in Healthcare Exhibition on the 21st of June at Raffles House, Fort Canning Park, Singapore are a testament to the power of working together collaboratively across cultures and borders.
We believe that cross-cultural and multidisciplinary collaboration is the only way that we can and will make a lasting impact on the future of our environment and healthcare system.
Design for Change Singapore/Malaysia 2024 Live Recording
Design for Change Malaysia 2024 – Symposium Programme
Sustainability in Hospitals & Healthcare Design Processes/Case Studies – Professor Evonne Miller
Sustainability and Design for Healthcare – Dr Zoe Mellick & Professor Marianella Chamorro-Koc
Educational Approaches to Sustainable Health Care – Associate Professor Danny Hills
Agenda:
DESIGN FOR CHANGE: SUSTAINABILITY IN HEALTHCARE
The International Design for Change Symposium/Study Tour is a collaborative endeavour, proudly brought forth by renowned institutions such as the School of Design at Queensland University of Technology (QUT), Taylor’s University Malaysia, Nanyang Polytechnic Singapore, the Mohammed Bin Rashid University of Medicine and Health Services UAE (MBRU), Monash University Australia, University of Technology Sydney (UTS), University of Canberra Australia, and the School of X, Design Singapore Council. This exceptional platform is dedicated to tackling real-world sustainability challenges in healthcare through innovative design methodologies in close collaboration with industry leaders and healthcare organisations.
The symposium format will include four distinct sessions, each featuring four in-person/Video presenters/speakers followed by Q&A panel discussions. The session titles are as follows:
- Session 1: Policy
- Session 2: Sustainability Challenges
- Session 3: Design Processes/Case Studies
- Session 4: Educational Approaches
Following the symposium, a select group of over 100 student participants from the above institutions embarked on a collaborative, cross-disciplinary, multinational, and multicultural study tour. Their mission was to formulate solutions across various domains, including product design, built environment, digital systems, awareness campaigns, service design, behaviour change initiatives, and transport design, all geared towards fostering sustainability in healthcare.
Details:
| Start Date: | 06/06/2024 [add to calendar] |
| End Date: | 22/06/2024 |