Dr Emilene Zitkus is a Senior Lecturer in Inclusive Design at Loughborough University whose expertise is in human-computer interaction, digital inclusion, user-centred and user experience design. She has been teaching at the undergraduate and postgraduate levels. After her PhD (EPSRC funded) at the University of Cambridge, where she iteratively co-created inclusive design tools with practitioners, she has been using her user-centred, inclusive design and co-creation skills in research related to accessible interfaces and service design focused on healthy ageing.
Her research expertise in Inclusive Design has been developed during the last 13 years through projects developed within partners in industry, like Ford and Jaguar-Land Rover.
Emilene is a member of the editorial board of Design for Health journal; visiting Lecturer at UNESP; a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy. She has experience in research management and development, as well as industrial experience in the automotive industry and automated technology industry, where she worked for more than 10 years and generated some design patents.
Other
2022 - Deputy Director of Doctoral Programme in the School of Design and Creative Arts
2022 - 2026 Expert Panellist, Dunhill Medical Trust
2020 - Member of the Editorial Board of the Design for Health Journal
External examiner of PhD and MPhil at the University of Nottingham, University of Sheffield, Federal University of Lavras and University of Sao Paulo State.
2023 - present - Member of the Reviewer Committee of the CHI 2023
2022 - present - Member of the Reviewer Committee of the CWUAAT 2023
2022 - Member of the Reviewer Committee of the IHC 2022
2021 - Member of the Reviewer Committee of the IHC 2021
Dr Emilene Zitkus' research interests have been driven by the need for a more accessible and inclusive design of interfaces, services and products. Her current research investigates the intersectionality and use of technology by older adults living alone (Royal Society IES\R3\213004), the impact of the digital transition on Older Adults living in the UK (IDA) and in other projects (FAPESP 2020/05187-5) she is looking at losses of capability among people 60+ years old and how it affects health monitoring in smart homes and older adults use of digital technology in rural areas (FAPESP 21/06968-3).
Royal Society IES\R3\213004
IDA Information Design Association
FAPESP 2020/05187-5
FAPESP 21/06968-3
Emilene is a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy and teaches at undergraduate (design, industrial design and user-centred design) and postgraduate levels (MA/ MSc User Experience; MSc Integrated Industrial Design, MSc Human Factors) on a number of modules:
- DSP 803 - Design for Inclusivity (module leader)
- DSC 201 - Inclusive Design
- DSC 029 - Final Year User-Centred Design Practice - Prototyping and Evaluation (module leader)
- DSC 027 - Industrial Design Major Project
- DSC 028 - Final Year User-Centred Design Practice
- DSP811 – User Experience Industry Project
- DSP 118 – Interaction and Experience Design
- DSP114 – Human Factors for Inclusive Design
- DSP859 – Integrated Industrial Design Major Project
- Placement Tutor
Consultancy work for the Design Ageing Institute - Royal College: Work Station as We Age.
Collaboration with East Midlands Cancer Alliance (EMCA) - UX and Ergonomics Master’s Placements.
Reading Club for Doctoral researchers at the School of Design and Creative Arts Loughborough University and Post Graduate Programme of Design for Health at the University of Sao Paulo.
Talks
Ageing in a Digitally Connected World: Digital Skills and Digital Inclusion:
- Rosebery Patient Participation Group, Loughborough, UK, 09th Feb 2023
- Sao Paulo City Council, Sao Paulo, Brazil, 24th Sept 2022
- The University of Sao Paulo, Post-Graduation on Connected Health, Bauru, Brazil, 2nd September 2022
- The Federal University of Lavras, Lavras, Brazil, 8th July 2022
Emilene welcomes applications for doctoral studies related to design for healthy ageing, inclusive design, design for inclusive digital services and inclusive interactions. Current PhD supervisions include:
- Ms Jikun Yin: Enabling Healthy Ageing by Designing Inclusive Digital Technology.
- Ms Zhuoning Fu
- Mr Jiayin Guan: A new model to motivate older adults to participate in physical activities.
- Ms Petra Salaric: Fostering intimacy-building in the early stages of relationships in online communication environments: Towards a design for wellbeing approach
- Ms Jane Higgs: Design for Resilient Health Care: Investigating patient and carer roles in paediatric healthcare systems
Completed PhD supervisions include:
- Ms Nariman Lotfi
- Paula Poiet (co-supervised with Vania Valente, UNESP)