.Associate professor in design, College of Design and Innovation, Tongji University, Shanghai (China)
.Director of the ResearchLab for Sustainable Business and Cultural Bridge
.academic representative for Tongji-Polimi Shenzhen Platform.
.Scientific Advisory Board and Session’s Chair, in conference Design forInclusion, AHFE International Applied Human Factors and Ergonomics Conference
. PrincipalInvestigator (PI) China in EU funded project - OD&M: A Knowledge Alliancebetween HEIs, makers and manufacturers to boost Open Design & Manufacturingin Europe_ 30 partners, 10 beneficiaries, 6 countries
Avril Accolla,designer, scholar and author, researches, and designs accordingly, on Designfor All, Design Driven Social Innovation, Holistic Ergonomics, Strategic Designand Sustainable Development.
Her book “Designfor All. The project for the real individual” ed. FrancoAngeli, 5° reprint,founds the implementation of DfA approach in the industrial world, from itsstrategic, production and commercial perspective (translated in Spanish byONCE, now publishing in Chinese).
AppointedInternational Scientific Director for the Spanish research project “DfACurricula in Universities” redesigning academic education for social innovationand integration.
Designs and teachescourses in 15 universities in 7 different countries. Project leader and teacherin customized courses and workshops for private companies (middle management)and institutions, does keynotes and workshops in more then 40 conferences in 16countries.
Focusing oninnovative experiences, designs and researches for multinationals (e.g. LegrandSA, Lactalis SA, Mars Inc.), SMEs, institutions, NPOs (e.g. TNO, EUCommission’s DG Enterprise, Milan Chamber of Commerce) in different sectors (e.g. informationnetwork, medical, electrical, food, kids, applied science, home).
Professionally works since 1998, in 2002 foundedavrildesign (design consultancy on product, systems and multimedia), focusingon Design for All (DfA). Co-founder and partner of ConfluenzeDesign-Ergonomics-Marketing
network, co-founder and partner of IDI ItalianDesigned Innovation ltd. Managed a production engineering R&D
department focusing on industrialization of innovativeproducts also in mechanical and medical area.
Graduated with distinction (Bachelor+Master ofScience_ final 100/100) in Industrial Design, Faculty of Architecture,Politecnico di Milano, with the thesis on DfA ‘Designing the Normality’,further specializes in Design Direction, Diversity, Marketing, Training Management,Prototyping.
Created variousInvention Patents and received several acknowledgements for her design –industrial and communication - among which the Compassod’Oro Honorable Mentionand the DfA Quality Label.
Co-Founder ofItalian Scholars in China and former board director, former Vice-President EIDDDfA Europe and Vice-president DfA Italia, former Professional Member ADI andProfessional Member DfA.
Works and teachesin Italian, English, Spanish. Notions of Chinese.