1. Meeting in Hong Kong

August 7, 2025, is the beginning of autumn, MSPL's annual event HONGKONG·2025: International Forum on Design Services and Social Innovation was held as scheduled at the Hilton Garden Inn in Mong Kok, Hong Kong. As stated in the forum announcement, MSPL aims to establish a global platform for scholars to exchange ideas, fostering design sharing and multidimensional thinking across diverse cultural backgrounds and contexts through international forums.

This forum adopts a hybrid online-offline format, bringing together experts and young scholars primarily from academic institutions in Italy, the United Kingdom, the United States, Belgium, Poland, Japan, India, Australia, Malaysia, both sides of the Taiwan Strait, and Hong Kong. The discussions centered on topics including critical examinations of the relationship between design innovation and growth, social innovation practices for specia groups, design thinking frameworks for health promotion strategies, and reevaluating traditional design paradigms - shifting from "problem-solving" to "problem setting"

As new technologies continue to expand design expressions aimed at an uncertain future, design researchers inevitably face conceptual challenges. The experts and young scholars participating in this forum maintain a strong focus on how design activities can advance societal wellbeing, preserving their professional direction and social responsibility despite the disruptive influence of rapid evolution. Not being trapped by technological tools, not hyping up new concepts and chasing impetuous buzzwords, adhering to long-term principles in design innovation and socialized services, and focusing on the humanistic value of design for society are the values we promote.

Throughout all stages of the forum activities, participants engage in equal dialogue, transcending distinctions of identity, status, or even cultural differences and academic biases. This embodies our core value of fostering cross-cultural understanding and tolerance among diverse cultures through forums. Ultimately, the fundamental purpose of design services and innovation extends beyond merely satisfying user needs or preferences; it catalyzes the creation of a more civilized and harmonious global society.

While this year's forum has concluded, it marks not an ending, but rather the forging of new connections and the beginning. We firmly believe that everyone is a potential social innovator and adhere to dialogue and cooperation among diverse cultures. MSPL will continue to uphold principles of fairness, impartiality, and academic rigor. Through ongoing accumulation of experience and careful selection of outstanding international scholars, we are dedicated to building a design research community renowned for its academic excellence and global influence.

2. Experts

Chairman of the Forum

Cees de Bont 

Ph.D., Professor, National University of Singapore, Singapore

Vice Chairman of the Forum

Henry B.L. Duh

Ph.D., Professor, Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong

Matthew Robb

Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Parsons School of Design, New York

Invited Experts

• Fangwu Tung, Ph.D., Professor, National Tsing Hua University, Hsinchu

• Shashank Mehta, Strategic Advisor, National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad

• Lawrence Marcelle, Ph.D., Part-time Assistant Professor, Parsons School of Design, New York

• Mitamura Ariyoshi, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Kyoto University of the Arts, Kyoto

• Limei Nong, Ph.D., Associate Professor, North China University of Technology, Beijing

• Huang Houshi, Ph.D., Professor, Sichuan Academy of Fine Arts, Chongqing

• Jingru Pan, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Central Academy of Fine Arts, Beijing

• Dominika Sobolewska, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Wroclaw Academy of Art & Design, Wroclaw

• Benny Leong, Professor, Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong

• Fanke Peng, Ph.D., Associate Professor, University of South Australia, Adelaide （online）

• Zhang Lei, Ph.D., Professor, Tongji University, Shanghai

• Zichao Nie, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Beihang University, Beijing

3. Keynote Speeches

The Scenario of Collaboration, Proximity and Care: Social innovation in the  Age of War, Walls and Hate

Ezio Manzini (Ph.D., Professor, Polytechnic University of Milan, Milan)

Dealing with Digital Literacy

Cees de Bont (Ph.D., Professor, National University of Singapore, Singapore)

Situated Interactions: Social Viscosity and the Design of Open Grounds

Juan Salamanca (Ph.D., Associate Professor, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign）

Indeterminacy and Agonism: Deweyan Reflections on Design Progress in the  Age of AI

Matthew Robb*, Lawrence Marcelle* (Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Parsons School of Design, New  York),（Ph.D., Part-time assistant professor, Parsons School of Design, New York）

The Indian Lens on Societal Design

Shashank Mehta (Strategic Advisor, National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad)

Beyond Aesthetics: Co-Designing Sustainable Futures

Fang Wu Tung (Ph.D., Professor, National Tsing Hua University, Hsinchu)

Post-Growth Innovation Practice: Techno-Empathetic and Critical Insights  from Mindful Design Studio

Dominika Sobolewska (Ph.D., Associate Professor, Wroclaw Academy of Art & Design, Wroclaw)

A Speculation for the Future of Service Design in Healthcare

Fanke Peng (Ph.D., Associate Professor, University of South Australia, Adelaide) 

Village Living: Exploring Local Design Futures of Housing Typologies for Intergenerational Well-Being in a Belgian Village

Drs. Sander Lambrix, Dr. An-Sofie SmetcorenProf. Dr. Jan Vanrie, Prof. Dr. Ann Petermans (Hasselt University, Belgium)

Beyond Screens: Towards a Just Transition Framework in Media Architecture through Digital-Physical Hybridity

Haoyi Ruan (Ph.D., Guangzhou Academy of Fine Arts, Guangzhou)

Research on Social Design Co-creation Mode: Taking the Design Practice for Disability-Inclusive Entrepreneurship Incubation Hub as an Example

Jingru Pan ( Ph.D., Associate Professor, Central Academy of Fine Arts, Beijing)
Team members: Xiaohe Dong, Caixia Zhou, Xuetong Wang, and Yang Yan (Graduate students, Central Academy of Fine Arts, Beijing)

Design Thinking Frameworks for Sustainable and Inclusive Health Promotion Strategies in China

Wenbo Ai (Ph.D., Post Doctoral research fellow at University of the Arts London, London)

Leveraging Data Communication Systems to Empower Local Innovations in Marginalized Slum Communities Through Behavioral Profiling 

Savira Aristi (Ph.D., Chiba University, Chiba) 

Design Eye of the Scholar: Chen Xu's Design Criticism Practice and Its  Contemporary Implications  

Drs. Qiu Liyuan (Nanjing Arts Institute School of Design, Nanjing) 

Redefining the Concept of Ageing from a Posthumanist Perspective in Design

Longyue Huang, Prof. Marita Canina (Polytechnic University of Milan, Milan) 

Evaluating the Therapeutic Qualities of Community Parks: An Elderly-Centric Perspective  

Xinyu Lin (Ph.D candidate, The National University of Malaysia, Bangi)

4. Culture Visit

Date: August 8th，2025 

Venue: The School of Design, Hong Kong Polytechnic University

Visit programme: Design Show, Studios and MRC, Design Lab(s), Meeting with Prof Henry Duh, Living Lab

We would like to express our gratitude to the School of Design at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University for their meticulous arrangements and explanations.