The International Upcycling Symposium 2020, held online by De Montfort University, featured various presentations on upcycling from design, engineering, and practice perspectives. The program included keynote speeches and discussions from experts across multiple universities globally, covering topics such as sustainable packaging, upcycling in fashion, and community engagement. The event aimed to explore the role of design in upcycling and foster networking among researchers and practitioners.

1. International
Upcycling
Symposium 2020
Research and Practice
Programme
De Montfort University, Leicester, UK (online)
4 September 2020

2. Symposium programme
I. 09:00-09:30 Opening and personal introductions
II. 09:30-10:00 Keynote by Prof. Tim Cooper (Nottingham Trent University, UK)
III. 10:00-11:45 Design, engineering and the upcycled
 “Material inventories for responsive design in fashion practice” by Ricarda Bigolin (RMIT University, Australia) and
Erika Blomgren, Anna Lidström, Stefanie Malmgren de Oliveira and Clemens Thornquist (University of Borås,
Sweden)
 “Discourses in and around upcycled artefacts: A social semiotic perspective” by Arlene Archer (University of Cape
Town, South Africa) and Anders Björkvall (Örebro University, Sweden)
 “Designing for second life: Systemic design for sustainable packaging in appliance manufacturing industry” by
Ashwathy Satheesan (National Institute of Design, India)
 “Upcycling of silicon solar cells: What are the options?” by Patrick Isherwood (Loughborough University, UK) and
Kyungeun Sung (De Montfort University, UK)
 “Scapegoat or saviour: the role of design in upcycling research” by Neil Maycroft (University of Lincoln, UK)
 “Object-Oriented-Upcycling: An object-based approach to the circular economy” by Fernando Galdon, Sille Bertelsen,
Jeremy Hulse and Ashley Hall (Royal College of Art, UK)
 “After Life: lessons on product longevity from the informal economy” by Ishan Khosla (Ishan Khosla Design, India)
IV. 11:45-12:00 Comfort break
V. 12:00-13:15 Upcycling practice and practitioners
 “My life journey and reflections as an upcycler” by Elizabeth Emmens-Wilson (Elizabeth Emmens-Wilson, UK)
 “Upcycling the World of Interiors” by Chris Billinghurst (The House of Upcycling, UK)
 “Scaling up Upcycling: Studying challenges and suggesting solutions for its integration in the existing supply chain” by
Pragya Sharma (Pragya Sharma, India)
 “Jane Gray” by Jane Gray (Jane Gray, UK)
 “Upcycling, Jugaad and Repair Cafes for Prosumption” by Jagdeep Singh (Lund University, Sweden) and Charnita
Arora (Perfect Life Spot, India)
VI. 13:15-14:00 Lunch break
VII. 14:00-15:45 Upcycling in fashion & textiles and education
 “Soul Shopping: autoethnography, upcycling, and post-growth fashion” by Sam Hudson-Miles (University of
Huddersfield, UK)
 “Exploring upcycling as a design process through fashion education” by Noorin Khamisani (Dubai Institute for Design
and Innovation, United Arab Emirates)
 “Commoning situated knowledge; Co-teaching-and-learning the ‘design-led upcycling’ of waste clothing” by Elaine
Igoe, Susan Noble, Lara Torres and Jennifer Cunningham (University of Portsmouth, UK)
 “Upcycling Advocate: Fostering Engagement and Empowerment through an Upcycle Guidebook in Undergraduate
Courses” by Chanjuan Chen (University of North Texas, USA) and Kendra Lapolla (Kent State University, USA)
 “Recontextualizing and Appropriating Secondhand Western Fashion Items in NonWestern Contexts” by Anika
Kozlowski (Ryerson University, Canada) and Daphne Mohajer va Pesaran (RMIT University, Australia)
 “Disrupting the linear textile model at the community scale” by Aziza Cyamani (Kansas State University, USA)
 “Future pathways of upcycled textiles” by Donna Maione (Carnegie Mellon University, USA)
VIII.15:45-16:00 Comfort break
IX. 16:00-17:00 AHRC Research Networking Scheme workshop
X. 17:00-17:10 Closing