On Monday, 4 May 2026 at the Munich Urban Colab!
Mark your calendar! The Design Summit is one of the absolute highlights of the mcbw. Look forward to an event where designers, makers, and forward thinkers from around the world come together to explore this year’s theme, Playground of Possibilities, from fresh perspectives.
The full-day conference brings together internationally renowned speakers who will highlight current trends, visionary impulses, and interdisciplinary design perspectives related to this year’s theme through talks and panel discussions. Following the daytime program, we invite you to join the mcbw get-together to wind down the evening and connect with one another.
With this exceptional line-up, the Design Summit becomes a day that is as dense as it is inspiring: from creative wellbeing and design as a mindset to AI, future labs, and design-driven innovation, all the way to architecture. Theory and practice, critical reflection and radical curiosity interlock seamlessly—creating a program that opens up perspectives, connects disciplines, and sparks renewed enthusiasm for shaping the future.
Alice Rawsthorn is an award-winning design critic and author based in London. Her books include Design as an Attitude and, most recently, Design Emergency: Building a Better Future—co-written with Paola Antonelli, senior design curator at MoMA, New York. Her books have been translated into more than a dozen languages, and her weekly design column for The New York Times was syndicated worldwide for over a decade.
show moreThroughout her work, Alice Rawsthorn champions design as a social, political, and ecological tool. Together with Paola Antonelli, she is also the co-founder of the Design Emergency podcast, which explores how design can drive positive change.
Image: Michael Lecki
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Roberto Verganti holds the Josefsson Family Chair in Art and Innovation at the Stockholm School of Economics—House of Innovation. He is also a Visiting Lecturer at Harvard Business School, where he teaches Design Theory and Practice, and a co-founder of Leadin’Lab, the laboratory for Leadership, Design, and Innovation at Politecnico di Milano.
show moreHe serves as an Ambassador of the European Commission‘s European Innovation Council and holds an honorary doctorate from the University of Vaasa. Roberto Verganti is the author of Overcrowded: Designing Meaningful Products in a World Awash with Ideas (MIT Press) and Design-Driven Innovation (Harvard Business Press), the latter nominated by the Academy of Management for the George R. Terry Book Award. His research has been awarded the Compasso d’Oro.
Furthermore, Roberto Verganti has advised major global corporations on innovation and design.
Image: Carla Sedini
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Marije Vogelzang is a visionary designer, speaker, and author, and has been a pioneer in food design since 1999. Her work has been showcased worldwide through exhibitions, installations, performances, dinners, and workshops that explore food from a design perspective. She teaches at various institutions, art schools, culinary schools, businesses, and through her online program.
show moreMarije Vogelzang spent eight years as head of the “Food Non Food Department” at Design Academy Eindhoven. In 2024, she was appointed Project Professor at Kunsthochschule Kassel for one year, and in 2025, she founded the Food Design Playground in Dordrecht (NL), an international event and experimental space for food design. In her latest book, Lick It: Challenge the Way We Experience Food, she rethinks how we perceive and experience food.
Image: Hilde Harshagen
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Prof. Dr. Friedrich von Borries teaches Design Theory at the University of Fine Arts Hamburg (HFBK) and works at the sociopolitical intersections of architecture, design, and art. Together with Alexander Doudkin, he co-founded getminds.ai, a platform that uses AI to open up diverse perspectives.
show moreAt the heart of his work is the relationship between design and social development. As a researcher, he seeks to understand the world; as a designer, he aims to change it. He combines research and design to explore the structures, practices, and technologies that shape contemporary life. His projects create spaces where people can discover, experiment with, and sensually experience new possibilities for themselves, their daily lives, social interactions, and the world around them.
Image: private
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Emmi Salonen is a designer and educator who founded the London-based Studio Emmi in 2005. Her work focuses on Positive Creativity—the idea that design can connect people, enhance wellbeing, and support sustainable choices. She is the author and designer of The Creative Wellbeing Handbook (BIS Publishers) and the creator of the Creative Ecosystem model, which helps reduce stress and burnout.
show moreHer insights combine hands-on experience with rigorous training, including Yale’s The Science of Well-Being course. Emmi is a Happiness Facilitator, RSA Fellow, and has contributed to the AI for Human Flourishing think tank at Harvard’s Institute for Quantitative Social Science.
Image: Jere Salonen
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Hideaki Ogawa was born in Tokyo, Japan, and has been based in Linz, Austria since 2007. He has worked as an artist, curator, and researcher at Ars Electronica and is now the Artistic Director of the Ars Electronica Futurelab, the organization’s R&D division, as well as Director of the Sapporo International Art Festival 2024 and Creative Director of Civic Creative Base Tokyo.
show moreHe has contributed to numerous international cross-disciplinary projects, including initiatives that use art as a catalyst to explore future scenarios, as well as projects that foster participatory communities and develop next-generation cultural and educational programs.
Image: vog.photo
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Filippo Pagliani is a partner and co-founder of Park studio. Graduated in Architecture at Politecnico di Milano, Filippo constantly deals with the process and quality of projects in close contact with work teams.
show moreBesides his professional activity, Filippo is involved since 1996 as a teacher at Politecnico Milano, School of Construction Engineering/Architecture and from 2013 as visiting professor of the Architectural Design international course. Filippo is engaged on a regular basis as a lecturer on issues related to arch itecture, urban design environment.
Image: Camilla Corato
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Jessie Storey leads Product Development in EMEA for Steelcase, shaping products and experiences for the evolving world of work. She and her teams explore the intersection of technology, behavior, and space to create insight-driven design solutions.
show moreOf particular focus are her efforts to embed circular economy principles at the core of how products are conceived, developed, and brought to market.
Image: Steelcase
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Catherine Spet lives and works in Vienna. After completing her bachelor's degree in Media Technology with a focus on audiovisual media, she pursued a master's degree in Digital Design in the Experimental Media class of Markus Wintersberger at UAS St. Pölten. At the same time, she studied Philosophy at the University of Vienna and subsequently completed her master's in Experimental Game Cultures at the University of Applied Arts Vienna in the class of Margarete Jahrmann.
show moreHer artistic focus lies in connecting media-theoretical and techno-philosophical concepts with societal questions, with particular interest in artificial intelligence, AR, XR, and game art. She sees art as a means to make these topics tangible and critically explore them.
In addition to her artistic practice, Catherine Spet works as a graphic designer and VJ.
Image: Catherine Spet
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Eric Treske, as a sociologist, focuses on social interaction: How do people organize themselves, and what conditions do they need to do so? At the beginning of his career, his work centered on companies such as BMW, Daimler, and Lufthansa Technik. Today, he works with federal agencies, cities, and municipalities – from Munich to Stocksee.
show moreFor several years, he has been active in the fields of urban and mobility development and is a passionate city-maker. His preferred working tool is play. He uses and develops these (planning) games both as a tool for analysis and as a format for dialogue.
Together with his colleague at the intrestik office, he works on developing innovative solutions for the future with his clients.
Image: Christian Hartlmaier
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Francesco Giordano, born in 1992 in Southern Germany, is a queer photographer, visual artist, and curator based in Munich. His work engages with LGBTQIA+ themes, migration, cultures of remembrance, and questions of visibility and social justice. Francesco holds a B.A. in Photodesign and an M.A. in Applied Design Research, with a background in Design Studies.
show moreHis work has been exhibited at Rencontres d'Arles, Belfast Photo Festival, Rathausgalerie Munich, and as part of the group exhibition The Line Between Us at Galerie Nord in Berlin, as well as at Pride Photo and Breda Photo in the Netherlands. He has received numerous grants and has been a member of the FOTODOKS collective since 2023.
Image: Stella Traub
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Joseph Steele is a UK-born brand strategist and creative director based in Munich. As Lead Brand Strategist at Celonis, he works at the intersection of brand, systems, and AI. His work has been recognized by the German Design Council, ADC Germany, and ADC Europe. He trained in fine art at Goldsmiths, University of London, and also in UX design.
show moreCelonis is a global leader in process intelligence, using AI and process mining to help organizations understand and improve how they operate.
Image: Jonas Ruhaak (Celonis)
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Julia Maria Otte is a curator, designer, and project director at Ludwig, Max + U at Ludwig Maximilian University in Munich. She works at the intersection of science, design, and public dialogue, exploring how design can make research visible, tangible, and socially relevant.
show moreWith a background in urban planning and design and a research focus on design psychology, she develops interdisciplinary formats for exchange, outreach, and engagement.
Image: Paloma Llambias
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Max Fraser is Editorial Director at Dezeen. Over the past two decades, he has worked as a design commentator across digital media, books, magazines, exhibitions, video formats, and live events, consistently aiming to expand the discourse on contemporary design and architecture. He is the author of several design books, including Design UK and Designers on Design, co-written with Sir Terence Conran.
show moreHis more recent publications include the London Design Guide series as well as monographs on designers Piet Hein Eek, Luca Nichetto, and Benjamin Hubert. As a journalist, Max Fraser has served as Design Correspondent for CNN Style and has written for publications such as the Financial Times, Wallpaper, Icon, Surface, the London Evening Standard, and Newsweek International. In addition, he has worked globally as a content consultant for companies and organizations and served as Deputy Director of the London Design Festival from 2012 to 2015.
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Leonhard Nima brings over 15 years of experience in the field of social innovation and has worked in more than 20 countries. He is the founder of Studio Nima, co-founder of N3XTCODER, and regularly moderates international conferences. As an Educational Advisor, he supports the Yunus Sports Hub.
show moreLeonhard Nima previously served as Adjunct Professor in the Master’s program in Social Entrepreneurship at Hult International Business School in San Francisco and London, and later became Head of Academia at the Grameen Creative Lab, working closely with Nobel Peace Prize laureate Prof. Muhammad Yunus. Earlier in his career, he gained experience in management consulting at Accenture.
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| 9:00 Opening and Networking Breakfast 10:00 Welcome Nadine Vicentini, Managing Director bayern design Hubert Aiwanger, Bavarian Minister of Economic Affairs, Regional Development and Energy Dr. Christian Scharpf, Head of the Department of Labor and Economic Affairs, City of Munich Leonhard Nima, Moderator 10:30 Introduction Playground of Possibilities Lisa Braun, Head of mcbw Empowering the Creative Self, Keynotes 10:40 Friedrich v. Borries, Co-Founder of getminds.ai 11:00 Emmi Salonen, Designer Studio Emmi and Author – 11:20 Short Break – Exploring the Creative Field, Keynotes 11:30 Hideaki Ogawa, Artistic Director Futurelab Ars Electronica 11:50 Marije Vogelzang, Designer and Founder of Food Design Playground – 12:30 Networking Lunch – | 13:30 Panel Friedrich v. Borries, Emmi Salonen, Marije Vogelzang, Hideaki Ogawa 14:00 Open Call – Voices of the Design Community Catherine Spet, Eric Treske, Francesco Giordano, Julia Maria Otte, Joseph Steele and Sparsh Tyagi – 15:00 Short Break – Turning Ideas into Action, Keynotes 15:15 Jessie Storey, Director, Product Development & Design, Steelcase 15:30 Filippo Pagliani, Partner and Co-Founder Park Associati – 15:45 Coffee Break and Networking – Creating Visions that Enrich, Dialogue 16:15 Roberto Verganti, Professor, The Josefsson Family Chair in Art and Innovation, Stockholm School of Economics and Alice Rawsthorn, Design Critic and Author Max Fraser, Moderator 17:15 Wrap-up 17:30 Drinks and Networking 18:00 Opening get-together 18:30 Welcome get-together Nadine Vicentini, Managing Director bayern design 21:00 See you later at mcbw! |
We’ve put together the most important answers about the mcbw design summit for you.
The keynotes and panels will be held in English. Simultaneous interpretation between English and German (English–German and German–English) will be provided.
We recommend arriving by bike or using public transport. The Leonrodplatz and Hochschule München stops are just a five-minute walk from the Munich Urban CoLab.
The venue is accessible for people with mobility impairments or those using wheelchairs. Accessible restrooms are available on the ground floor and on the third floor. Upon request, disabled parking spaces in the underground garage and a wheelchair-accessible elevator can be arranged: welcome @ munich-urban-colab.com
Tickets are only available as a combination for the mcbw design summit (9:30 AM – 5:30 PM) and the get-together (6:00 – 9:30 PM). This includes inspiring talks and panels, lunch, drinks & snacks, as well as the exclusive evening networking event.
An inspiring experience full of creative impulses and valuable insights awaits you at the mcbw design summit. You will have the opportunity to learn from renowned experts and visionaries in the design world who will share their unique perspectives and experiences. In addition, you can take part in exciting discussions that stimulate thought and promote new ideas. The interactive atmosphere allows you to exchange ideas with like-minded people, network and gain fresh inspiration for your own projects and deepen your knowledge. You will become part of a vibrant community that celebrates creativity and drives innovation. Be ready for a day full of aha moments and new perspectives! We also invite you to join us for drinks and snacks from 6 p.m. to round off the day.
At the mcbw design summit, you will meet leading minds from the design industry as well as decision-makers from marketing, communication and advertising. You will have the opportunity to meet politicians and representatives of ministries and authorities who work at the interface of design and public policy. You can also expect product developers, researchers and scientists to contribute their expertise and present innovative approaches. This diversity of experts offers you the chance to gain valuable insights, engage in exciting discussions and significantly expand your network in the design community. Be ready for inspiring encounters and exchanges with the best in the industry!
