1. Introduction

Africa is at a critical turning point. Across the continent, researchers, universities, communities, and businesses are producing knowledge, artifacts, and practices that address some of the most pressing challenges of our era, - those of scale, limited resources, cultural plurality, and rapid technological change. This symposium brings together researchers, scholars, engineers, designers, technologists, entrepreneurs, policymakers, industry experts, and innovation practitioners around a shared belief: that design science and advanced technologies, when applied rigorously and with humility, can yield sustainable, inclusive innovations grounded in African realities and valuable to the wider world.  

Africa is not viewed as a testing ground for technologies invented elsewhere. It is presented as a source of knowledge, theory, methodology, and technological leadership - a context where constraints fuel creativity and where solutions created with and for African communities offer vital insights for global innovation. The symposium is organized around five interlinked pillars that chart the path from collaboration to impact: the Team, the Problem, the Concept, the Embodiment, and the Value.

2. The Team – An International Advisory Committee  

An international advisory committee, bringing together diverse and recognized researchers from across Africa and around the world is dedicated to making this Symposium a pivotal event in African research. The list of the committee members will appear on the symposium website.

3. The Problem 

Africa is experiencing multiple challenges while undergoing rapid technological and socio-economic changes. Across the continent, pressing technical and engineering problems arise, digital technologies are spreading, AI is reshaping industries, and a growing population with a new generation of innovators, researchers, practitioners, educators, and policymakers is emerging. A crucial question arises: How can systematic, design-driven research support African communities in converting these challenges into opportunities and in addressing urgent issues on appropriate terms and contexts?

This First International Africa Design and Innovation Symposium brings together engineering design and technology innovation to examine this question. On one side, Design provides a systematic approach to solving problems. It examines how artifacts and systems—both living and non-living—are created and integrated into our physical, virtual, psychological, economic, and social environments. On the other side, advanced technologies such as AI offer tools for data analysis, prediction, task automation, and the enhancement of human decision-making. Together, these approaches can support solutions that are technically effective, ethically appropriate, and sustainable.

Such achievement requires synergy and collaboration among academia, industry, and society. The symposium will bring together scholars and practitioners from different disciplines and regions to exchange ideas and develop a research agenda through which Africa can become both a user and a source of global innovation.  

4. The Concept 

Our vision is an African research community that advances design innovation that is inclusive, sustainable, and responsive to local conditions. We aim to create a research and innovation environment in which researchers, entrepreneurs, and institutions can use external solutions while also helping to shape their design, development, and governance. This work should reflect African values, languages, economies, and lived experiences.

The vision emphasizes African leadership in applying cutting-edge technology to priorities that include access to quality healthcare and education, resilient food systems, effective public institutions, environmental protection, and economic opportunities for a growing workforce. Technological innovation and rigorous design should be accompanied by social responsibility. This will help ensure that the benefits of technology are distributed fairly and that communities have meaningful access to them.

We also want African research in Design Science to make a recognizable contribution to international scholarship. African researchers can contribute original methods, artifacts, and insights while maintaining a clear focus on African priorities and knowledge systems.

This vision aligns with several design bodies’ strategic focus to further advance industrialization and technological innovation in low-income areas. It also leverages the current momentum of Design Science workshops in Africa that offered practical, hands-on design learning and skills development. In addition, it draws on related initiatives elsewhere in the USA and Europe. Together, these experiences offer valuable models for organizing the symposium and for nurturing a vibrant community of researchers and practitioners in the African context. This Dakar edition is regarded as an initial event that will extend across Africa.

5. The Embodiment: mission  

The mission of this symposium is to create a forum where researchers and practitioners from Africa and beyond can:

• Share recent developments in engineering design, innovation, and technology that address practical Africa problems. 
  
• Present current research, including new artifacts, methods, and empirical studies.  
  
• Develop partnerships among colleagues, disciplines, institutions, and sectors, including academia, industry, government, and civil society.  
  
• Unify and strengthen the design research community in Africa by supporting relationships that continue after the symposium.  
  

The symposium emphasizes knowledge creation, exchange and capacity building. It will also promote responsible and ethical approaches to design by considering local context, fairness, transparency, accountability, and broader societal consequences. The symposium will support work suitable for publication while encouraging research with practical value. Its broader purpose is to advance scholarship that contributes to challenges faced by African communities, organizations, and economies.

6. The Value: experience and opportunity

A limited number of about forty to fifty participants (TBC) will take part in a program designed to encourage substantive discussion, shared expertise, and continued collaboration. The program will include:

• Keynote talks by scholars and practitioners in design engineering research and technology, addressing recent developments and future directions in the field.  
  
• Paper presentations featuring original research across the symposium themes, from design theories and methods to practical applications of advanced technology.  
  
• Interactive discussions and panel sessions bringing together researchers, practitioners, and policymakers to examine issues involving the governance, ethics, and implementation of technology in different African contexts.  
  
• Demonstrations of artifacts, prototypes, and systems that allow participants to engage directly with new technologies and applications.  
  
• Networking opportunities structured to support research collaborations, joint funding proposals, and partnerships among institutions.  
  
• Collaborative research planning sessions in which participants can identify shared research priorities and begin developing projects, publications, and grant applications.  
  

The symposium also offers opportunities of mentorship for early-career researchers. Senior academics and industry practitioners will participate throughout the event to advise emerging scholars, provide feedback on doctoral research, and support the professional development of African researchers.

The symposium will also promote international partnerships by connecting African researchers, universities and research centers with their overseas colleagues, research consortia, funding agencies, and industry partners. These relationships can broaden participation in international research and increase the visibility of African-led work.

--- Thematic tracks ---

We invite submissions on a range of topics at the intersection of design, technology, and sustainable innovation in the African context, including but not limited to the following tracks:

Track 1: Design Theories and Methodologies

• Defining and broadening theoretical and conceptual foundations 
  
• Design cognition, thinking and process models for innovation  
  
• Engineering innovation and creation in the African paradigm 
  
• Design creativity and assessment 
  
• Design and scientific discovery 
  

Track 2: Design, Intelligent, and Immersive Technologies

• AI in product development and CAD 
  
• User interface design and AI 
  
• Human-AI collaboration in design practices 
  
• Generative AI and LLMs 
  
• AR/VR/XR in design workflows  
  
• Design optimization   
  

Track 3: Design Education, Innovative Pedagogy and Skill Development

• Design education and skill development for Next-Gen African innovators  
  
• Design and pedagogical models to support active pedagogies in Africa 
  
• Developing signature pedagogies in African paradigm 
  
• Design and assistive technologies in both formal and informal learning environments 
  
• AI-enhanced learning in design education  
  

Track 4: Design and Sustainable Development in Africa

• Sustainable design (framework and methods) 
  
• Design for green/sustainable engineering and energy systems 
  
• Environmental sustainability and ecological design principles 
  

Track 5: Design, Materials, and Manufacturing

• Methods and tools to design for additive manufacturing (DfAM)  
  
• Prototyping methods and use cases 
  
• Materials engineering (hard, soft)  
  
• Design and search of new sustainable materials  
  

Track 6: Human-Centered, Innovative and Inclusive Design

• Human-centered design and empathy  
  
• Inclusive design (Design for Inclusion/ DfA),  
  
• Participatory approaches and social innovation 
  
• Co-design and diversity, equity, inclusivity and accessibility 
  
• Emotional, cognitive and cultural aspects of user experience in design 
  
• Engineering design and indigenous knowledge systems 
  

Track 7: Design, Policy, and Resilient Systems

• Secure by Design principles and systems resilience  
  
• Design of public policy of engineering products 
  
• Design for healthcare and public health systems 
  
• Design for smart agriculture and precision farming design 
  
• Urban innovation and design of smart cities  
  

This list is not exhaustive, and we welcome innovative contributions that extend the boundaries of these themes.

--- Submission Guidelines ---

Prospective participants should first submit a two-page abstract describing their proposed contribution. The abstract should indicate whether the contribution is intended for a talk within a panel session, a poster, or a demonstration. Authors should also state whether they wish to be considered for publication.

Abstracts will be reviewed for relevance, quality, originality, and fit with the symposium themes. Following this review, selected authors may be invited to submit one of the following:

• Full paper: A publication-quality paper reporting completed, original research. Recommended length: 9 pages.  
  
• Work-in-progress paper: A publication-quality paper describing ongoing research and presenting preliminary findings. Recommended length: 9 pages.  
  
• Poster: A visual presentation of research findings or an early-stage project, particularly suitable for doctoral researchers.  
  
• Demonstration: A presentation of a functional artifact, service, prototype, or system.  
  

To encourage discussion of emerging research and university innovation, contributors will not be required to submit their work for publication. Authors should indicate their publication preference when submitting the abstract so that reviewers can consider the intended form and stage of the contribution.

All papers proposed for publication will undergo peer review by an international panel with expertise in Design Science Research and Technology.  

IMPORTANT: Accepted papers will be considered for the Design Science Journal’s Thematic Collection on ‘Design Research, Education and Practice in Africa’. Information related to the DSJ (IF 2025, 2.8; Editor-in-Chief: Panos Papalambros) can be found here:

Formatting instructions and templates for papers, posters, and demonstrations will be provided on the Symposium website.

The link for the full paper submission will be provided soon: …

--- Important Dates ---

• Full Paper Submission Deadline: February 28, 2027
  
• Notification of Acceptance: March 31, 2027
  
• Camera-Ready Submission: April 30, 2026
  
• Date: May 26-27-28, 2027
  

For inquiries, please contact: Dr. Yakhoub Ndiaye,yakhoub.ndiaye@ucad.edu.sn  

We look forward to receiving your submission and welcoming you, and to shaping this future together.