Project Overview

During summer 2024, I had the honour of representing Imperial College London at the first International Design Education Laboratory (EduLab), hosted by Tsinghua University in Qingdao, China. The five-week programme brought together students from eight leading universities to collaboratively imagine solutions for future scenarios in 2050.

Our team was assigned the “positive future” scenario, where responsible consumption and human-focused design prevail. In response, we developed KewBot — a smart gardening companion designed to enhance the physical and mental health of elderly users living in high-rise urban environments.

KewBot is more than just a tool. It assists with gardening tasks while encouraging physical movement, reducing stress, and promoting community interaction through shared gardening spaces. By integrating adaptive technology and vertical gardening into a daily health routine, KewBot supports active ageing and social connection in future cities.

This experience gave me the opportunity to co-create in an intercultural setting, present to industry and government representatives, and contribute to a vision of design as a force for sustainable, human-centred futures.