Professor Mugendi K. M’Rithaa is a transdisciplinary industrial designer, educator, researcher and consultant presently the Acting Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Administration, Planning and Finance) at Machakos University, Kenya. He studied in Kenya, the USA, India, and South Africa and holds a Bachelor’s degree in Design; a Masters degree in Industrial Design; a Higher/Postgraduate Diploma Higher Education and Training; as well as a Doctorate in Universal Design. He is widely traveled and has taught in Kenya, Botswana, Canada, India, Norway, South Africa, Sweden and Uganda and is passionate about various expressions of socially conscious design, including Advanced Ergonomics/Human Factors Engineering; Design Thinking/Human-Centred Design (HCD); Designerly Strategies for Mitigating Climate Change; Design for Social Innovation and Sustainability; Distributed Renewable Energy; Indigenous Knowledge Systems (IKS); Participatory/Co-Design; Sustainable Development; Sustainable Transportation; and Universal/Inclusive Design (UD).

Mugendi has a special interest in the pivotal role of design thinking in advancing the developmental agenda on the African continent. He is a founding member and Simba Fellow of the Pan-Afrikan Design Institute (PADI)/Design Council of Afrika, and is associated with a number of other international networks focusing on design within industrially developing (or majority world contexts) including the Association of Designers of India (ADI). He is also the Founding Patron of the Interior Designers’ Association of Kenya (IDAK); a Board Member of Open Design Afrika (ODA); the Special Advisor to the Hasso Plattner [School of Design Thinking] d-school AFRIKA at the University of Cape Town; the Special Advisor to the Nairobi Design Week (NDW); a Founding Professional Member of the Design Kenya Society (DKS); an Advisory Board member of the Global Equality Alliance (GEA); a Member of the International Association for Volunteer Effort (IAVE); as well as an Advisory Committee Member of the International Center for Creativity and Sustainable Development (ICCSD) under the auspices of UNESCO. He is the Chairholder of the UNESCO Chair on Cloud Computings for Sustainable Development. Additionally, Mugendi is the President Emeritus and Senator of the World Design Organization (WDO) – having been the first African President in the history of the WDO. Much of his work with the WDO focuses on the importance of supporting the aspirations of designers worldwide in the [industrial] design profession’s collective quest to resolve wicked problems in diverse contexts.