"New product development for upcycling and circular economy focusing on everyday electronic products" presentation slides used at the International Upcycling Festival 2024 on 11 April 2024, funded by DMU Higher Education Innvoation Funding and AHRC for the International Upcycling Research Network project.

1. New product development for upcycling
and circular economy focusing on
everyday electronic products
Dr Kyungeun Sung
Product Design
School of Art, Design and Architecture
Faculty of Arts, Design and Humanities
De Montfort University, Leicester, UK
International Upcycling Festival 2024 (11/04/2024)

2. Project members
 Joseph Shade, BA Product Design student, De Montfort University (DMU)
 Thomas Wylam, BA Product Design student, DMU
 Tony Lorance, MSc Product Design student, DMU
 Mik Pieniazek, Senior Lecturer in Product Design, DMU
 Abhishek Tiwary, Associate Professor in Engineering and Sustainable
Development, DMU
New product development for upcycling and circular economy focusing on everyday electronic products
Dr Kyungeun Sung

3. Introduction
 Existing products in the linear economy
 Relatively easy to reuse/recycle single material products (e.g., plastic bottles)
 More difficult to reuse/recycle everyday electronic products (e.g. electronic
kettles) with multiple components and mixed materials
  radical innovations in new product development (NPD) for upcycling and
circular economy
 A short-term project, “New Product Development for Upcycling and Circular
Economy (NPD4CE)”
 November 2022 – July 2023
 De Montfort University (DMU) Higher Education Innovation Funding (HEIF)
(£11,086)
 Project website: http://npd4ce.our.dmu.ac.uk/
New product development for upcycling and circular economy focusing on everyday electronic products
Dr Kyungeun Sung

4. Process
 Nov-Dec 2022: advertisement + applications + shortlisting
 Jan 2023: interview + appointment of 3 current DMU students (Joe, Thomas,
Tony) + research ethics approval + kick-off meeting + product selection and
purchase (Joe: Bluetooth speaker; Thomas: cordless vacuum cleaner; Tony:
electronic kettle)
 Feb-Mar 2023: literature review + secondary research + project planning +
identification of stakeholders + reverse engineering & product analysis
 Apr-May 2023: idea generation + concept development + stakeholder interview
+ concept simulation and testing (virtual + physical).
 Jun-Jul 2023: final concept refinement and proposal + working prototype + final
presentation
 Maximum 10 hours a week (5.5 months)
New product development for upcycling and circular economy focusing on everyday electronic products
Dr Kyungeun Sung

5. New product development for upcycling and circular economy focusing on everyday electronic products
Dr Kyungeun Sung

6. Student’s process and outcomes: Joe
New product development for upcycling and circular economy focusing on everyday electronic products
Dr Kyungeun Sung

7. Student’s process and outcomes: Joe
New product development for upcycling and circular economy focusing on everyday electronic products
Dr Kyungeun Sung

8. Student’s process and outcomes: Joe
New product development for upcycling and circular economy focusing on everyday electronic products
Dr Kyungeun Sung

9. Student’s process and outcomes: Joe
New product development for upcycling and circular economy focusing on everyday electronic products
Dr Kyungeun Sung

10. Student’s process and outcomes: Thomas
New product development for upcycling and circular economy focusing on everyday electronic products
Dr Kyungeun Sung

11. Student’s process and outcomes: Thomas
New product development for upcycling and circular economy focusing on everyday electronic products
Dr Kyungeun Sung

12. Student’s process and outcomes: Tony
New product development for upcycling and circular economy focusing on everyday electronic products
Dr Kyungeun Sung

13. Student’s process and outcomes: Tony
New product development for upcycling and circular economy focusing on everyday electronic products
Dr Kyungeun Sung

14. Discussion
 Good learning opportunity for the students
 Valued collaboration opportunity for the industry stakeholders
 Potential for future research and development: (i) what kinds of products are
more suitable/ not suitable for strong upcycling concept or narrative; (ii)
scalable ideas and concepts ready for mass production; (iii) making subtle
changes not necessarily visible but improve sustainability by reducing the
number of parts, reducing the variety of materials, and simplifying the
assembly; and (iv) flat-pack self-assembly products with IKEA effect and what
kinds of products are acceptable for self-assembly
 Varied students (stage of the study, capacity, strengths, weaknesses)
 Part-time placement year – best to recruit
 Final year + master students – good for shorter projects (1-3 months)
New product development for upcycling and circular economy focusing on everyday electronic products
Dr Kyungeun Sung

15. Conclusion
 5.5 months project
 Current students as part-time designers with limited resources
 Exploratory in nature
 No scientific significance
 Useful to other academics to conduct similar studies/projects
 Small-scale pilot project
 Potential bigger projects for: (i) products suitable for strong upcycling concept;
(ii) promising markets and consumer segments for products with strong
upcycling concept; (iii) scalable upcycling design ideas and concepts for mass
production; (iv) subtle and invisible innovation using upcycling and CE
principles; (v) products suitable for self-assembly and IKEA effect; and (vi) how
to involve and convince the big players (major manufacturers) for a change
New product development for upcycling and circular economy focusing on everyday electronic products
Dr Kyungeun Sung

16. Acknowledgements
 DMU HEIF
 AHRC Research Networking grant for International Upcycling Research
Network [grant number AH/W007134/1]
 Research Award from DMU
 Stuart Lawson, Kelley Wilder, Kate Cheyne, Siobhan Keenan, Christine White,
Jill Cowley, Deborah Cartmell, Mike Kagioglou and Katie Normington
 Industry professionals: Cameron Lalor, Charlie Keitch, Lewis Roe, Nathan
Hales, and Sebastian Ward
New product development for upcycling and circular economy focusing on everyday electronic products
Dr Kyungeun Sung

17. Thank you 
Dr Kyungeun Sung
Senior Lecturer in Product Design
Programme Leader for MA/MSc Product Design
Faculty Deputy Head of Research Ethics
De Montfort University
Gateway House, Leicester, UK
Email: Kyungeun.sung@dmu.ac.uk
Phone: +44 (0)116 207 8498
Website: https://www.kyungeunsung.com/home
New product development for upcycling and circular economy focusing on everyday electronic products
Dr Kyungeun Sung