Mugendi M'Rithaa

Biography

Prof. Mugendi K. M’Rithaa is an industrial designer, educator and researcher at Machakos University, Kenya. He studied in Kenya, the USA, India and South Africa and holds postgraduate qualifications in Industrial Design and Higher Education, as well as a doctorate in Universal Design. He is widely traveled and has taught in Kenya, Botswana, South Africa and Sweden and is passionate about various expressions of socially conscious (and responsible) design, including: Designerly Strategies for Mitigating Climate Change; Design for Social Innovation and Sustainability; Distributed Renewable Energy; Indigenous Knowledge Systems; Participatory Design; and Universal Design.
Mugendi has a special interest in the pivotal role of design thinking in advancing the developmental agenda primarily on the African continent. He is associated with a number of international networks focusing on design within industrially developing (or majority world) contexts. Mugendi is also Africa’s first President of the World Design Organization™, formerly known as the International Council of Societies of Industrial Design. Much of his work focuses on the importance of WDO in supporting the aspirations of younger designers worldwide.