Teresa Almeida Participates in International Workshop on Digital Healthcare Design in Switzerland

Teresa Almeida, researcher at the Interactive Technologies Institute (ITI) and Assistant Professor at Instituto Superior Técnico (IST), was invited to participate in the international workshop “Design Perspectives on Digital Healthcare”, held at the University of Applied Sciences and Arts of Southern Switzerland (SUPSI).

Organised by the Interaction Design Unit at SUPSI’s Institute of Design (IDe), the workshop marked the closing phase of the MAKEAWARE! project—an initiative focused on co-creating knowledge and raising public awareness about Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) through participatory and data-driven design.

The event brought together five leading experts in design research working at the intersection of participatory practices, data ethics, and healthcare. Through short presentations and open-format conversations, the workshop fostered rich dialogue on the ethical, methodological, and practical challenges of designing digital technologies in sensitive health-related contexts.

As part of the SPEARHEAD consortium, an Innosuisse-funded national effort combining public and private partners to tackle AMR—MAKEAWARE! promotes grassroots engagement and patient empowerment. The event provided a space to reflect on how design can meaningfully contribute to civic health literacy and responsible innovation in digital healthcare.

Teresa Almeida contributed to the discussions by sharing her interdisciplinary and design-led approach, which combines research through design (RtD) and participatory methods to work with marginalised communities and explore sensitive societal topics.