Mascha van der Voort

Mascha van der Voort serves as Full Professor in Human Centred Design and Vice-Dean Education at the University of Twente's Faculty of Engineering Technology. She concurrently holds scientific co-directorship of the DesignLab and board membership at Design United (4TU Research Centre for Design), leveraging her dual background in civil engineering and human-centred product design.

Her research pioneers transdisciplinary, participatory design methodologies that actively engage diverse stakeholders in co-creating solutions for societal challenges. By contextualizing design through scenario-based approaches, she elicits authentic needs across domains including healthcare systems, automotive engineering, policy development, and smart city infrastructure—ensuring solutions reflect real-world expectations and foster collective commitment.

She founded the Industrial Design Engineering programs (2001), co-established the DesignLab (2014), and created the award-winning Transdisciplinary Master-insert 'Shaping Responsible Futures'.

Her recognition includes:

• Dutch Higher Education Award 2022

As an educator, she mentors students through transdisciplinary curriculum development emphasizing real-world problem-solving and stakeholder collaboration across engineering and social domains.

Her leadership anchors the Human Centered Design group within the Design, Production and Management department, driving the DesignLab's mission to bridge academic disciplines with societal needs through co-creative practices.