Mariia, Dr. Zolotova

Deputy Head, Department of Industrial Design.

Obtained MA in Graphic Design at St Petersburg University (SPbU), she worked as a graphic designer in advertisement and branding. She moved to Italy to develop her profile in Product Design at the Sapienza University of Rome, where she finalized her studies with a project in the field of Design for Sustainability. While getting more in-depth into academic life, she chose the path of Ph.D. She dedicated her time and energy to building an international relationship between SPbU and Sapienza, and to her research in Design for Healthcare and Cognitive Ergonomics, Interaction, and User Experience developed in collaboration with an Italian manufacturer of healthcare equipment Ginevri Srl. In that period, she had also participated in establishing the DESISSPbUlab at SPbU to work and promote the projects in Design for Social Innovation. Today, she is an Assistant Professor of Industrial Design at XJTLU, China, and is a visiting supervisor of MA at SPbU. Synthesizing her diverse experience in Design, she is specifically interested in design methodologies and innovation that the latter can bring to the design projects, user experience, and creative process.