Susana PAIXAO BARRADAS

Dr. Susana PAIXÃO-BARRADAS is a Portuguese designer, researcher, educator, and academic leader based in France. She is Director of Design Programmes and Professor of Design at Kedge Business School, where she combines research, teaching, and programme development in the fields of design, innovation, and societal transformation. Holding a PhD in Industrial Design from the Universitat Politècnica de València (Spain), her research explores how design methods, co-design, and participatory approaches can address complex and sensitive societal challenges. Her work focuses particularly on health and well-being, patient experience, mental health, emotions, sustainable production, and responsible consumption. Through qualitative, visual, and collaborative research methods, she investigates the role of design in fostering inclusion, empowerment, and systemic transformation. An internationally engaged scholar, she has developed academic and research collaborations across Europe, Latin America, and Asia. She has held visiting positions and conducted research projects in Brazil, Mexico, China, and Spain, working with universities, healthcare institutions, communities, and industry partners. Her research has been published in international journals and collective works in the fields of design research, healthcare innovation, social innovation, and sustainability. Before joining Kedge Business School in 2015, she taught and conducted research at the Universitat Politècnica de València and worked as an industrial designer in Portugal and Spain. Today, her activities focus on advancing design research and education as catalysts for more sustainable, responsible, and human-centred futures.