Designer — Collaboration & Project

About

This is a student-led Designer role focused on collaborative, project-based design work within the UIUC community. The role centers on developing research-driven concepts across industrial design, systems thinking, and speculative practice. Projects may explore topics such as health and mental well-being, sustainability and clean water, climate futures, wearable systems, and emerging technologies through physical artifacts, prototyping, and visual storytelling.

Your work is intended to be interdisciplinary and mutually beneficial, offering participating students opportunities to contribute their skills, build portfolio-ready work, and engage in design inquiry beyond traditional coursework.

This opportunity is open to students with interests or skills in design, engineering, environmental studies, data/GIS, health sciences, psychology, or related fields. Ideal collaborators are curious, self-motivated, and interested in working across disciplines. Experience with research, prototyping, visualization, or systems thinking is helpful but not required.

The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign is a leading public research institution known for interdisciplinary innovation across design, engineering, science, and the arts. With a strong culture of collaboration, research, and creative inquiry, UIUC provides an environment where students and faculty explore complex social, technological, and environmental challenges through applied and speculative work.

I’m happy to connect with students interested in interdisciplinary, research-driven design work. Feel free to reach out with a short note about your background or interests at: