Before becoming an entrepreneur, I was an academic. And once an academic, always an academic.
I used to work as a researcher at the Universidad Politècnica de València, in Spain. With a Ph.D in Development, Sustainability, and Ecodesign, my research fields were ecoinnovation, sustainability and creativity. I worked mainly in the packaging, toy, and electronic sectors, since I was part of research group Integration of Design & Environmental Assessment (ID&EA).
Research
Academics have to share their work, results, and thoughts, so naturally I’ve been involved in a number of publications! The following list shows my contributions in high-impact research journals:
- Method for Setting Environmental Targets in Product Development: Incorporating Use-Phase Impact by Subsystem (Collado-Ruiz, D. and Ostad-Ahmad-Ghorabi, H.). In press.
- Estimating environmental behaviour without performing an LCA (Collado-Ruiz, D. and Ostad-Ahmad-Ghorabi, H.). 2012. Journal of Industrial Ecology 19(1), pp. 31-42.
- Tool for the environmental assessment of cranes based on parameterization (Collado-Ruiz, D. and Ostad-Ahmad-Ghorabi, H.). 2011. International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment, 16(5), pp. 392-400.
- Influence of environmental information on creativity (Collado-Ruiz, D. and Ostad-Ahmad-Ghorabi, H.). 2010. Design Studies 30(5), pp. 479-498.
- Comparing LCA results out of competing products – Developing reference ranges from a product family approach (Collado-Ruiz, D., Ostad-Ahmad-Ghorabi, H.). Journal of Cleaner Production, 18(4), pp. 355-364. Elsevier.
- Fuon theory: Standardizing functional units for product design (Collado-Ruiz, D., and Ostad-Ahmad-Ghorabi, H.). 2010. Resources, Conservation and Recycling 54(10), pp. 683-691.
- Modularity and Ease of Disassembly: study of electrical and electronic equipment (Collado-Ruiz, d., and Capuz-Rizo, S.). 2010. Journal of Mechanical Design, 132(1), pp. 014502-1-5.
- Is environmental product information important to consumer of the base of the pyramid? (Pacheco-Blanco, B. Collado-Ruiz, D, Bastante-Ceca, M.J., Capuz-Rizo, S.F.) 2009. Dyna, 84(3), pp. 231-236.
- Design for end-of-life of small electrical appliances. Case study for electric toothbrushes (Collado-Ruiz, D, Ruescas-Nicolau, A., Viñoles-Cebolla, R., Bastante-Ceca, M.J., Pacheco-Blanco, B.). 2008. Dyna, 83(8), pp. 507-515.
Click to see Master Thesis that I have supervised
| Student | Title | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Maitane Fernández de Larrinoa | Ecocities: their assessment and their planning | September 2014 |
| Alba Crespo | Mediterranean diet: environmental impact and public perceptions | September 2014 |
| Aitziber Ferreiro | Environmental impact and public information on Spanish bushfires | September 2014 |
| David Oliver Llorente | Standardization and environmental assessment of a labeling machine | July 2014 |
| Jessica Fernández Cano | New design paradigm based on material limits that can be overcome in our current change in technological era | September 2012 |
| Ana María Más Gil | Influence of “Ecostereotypes” in percetion of environmental performance of ecodesigned products, and on their purchase | June 2012 |
| Iñaki Herrero Dorca | Product-Service System proposal to substitute disposable plastic bags | September 2011 |
| Álvaro Martínez Flores | Analysis of Product-Service Systems and redesign of communication strategy for ASociación Hortaviva | September 2011 |
| Nerea Isusi Olaizola | Analysis and redesign of the Product-Service system of Asociación Hortaviva | September 2011 |
| María del Mar Crespo Bustos | Study to improve acceptation of Product-Service systems by consumers | December 2010 |
| Radoslava Bogdanova | State of the Art in Environmental Champions and their role in design | June 2009 |
The truth is rarely pure and never simple.
Oscar Wilde
Lecturing
I used to be Associate Professor (I’m currently on permanent leave). Because of this, I have taken care of several subjects during 10 years at Universitat Politècnica de València, in the role of lecturer. My core areas are Engineering Design, Sustainability and Project Management.
The most important subjects that I have been engaged have been:
- Ecoinnovation, as course developer, coordinator and lecturer.
- Sustainable Product Design, as course developer, coordinator and lecturer.
- The Design Process: tools and methodology, as lecturer.
- Ergonomics in Industrial Design, as course co-developer and lecturer.
- Design Specification, as course developer, coordinator and lecturer.
- New technologies in engineering design, as course developer, coordinator and lecturer.
- Virtual representation of products, as lecturer.
- Industrial Product Design, as course developer, coordinator and lecturer.
In addition, I have been involved in other subjects related to History of Industrial Design and Free Software Applications.
Guest lectures
Part of my lectures in the past have taken place in different universities around the globe:
- Vienna University of Technology (TU Wien) (multiple occasions) 🇦🇹
- Universidad de Monterrey (UdeM) (guest lectures in two occasions) 🇲🇽
- Linköping University (guest lectures) 🇸🇪
- Cranfield University (guest lectures) 🇬🇧
- RMIT University (guest lectures) 🇦🇺
- Newcastle University (guest lecture) 🇦🇺
- University of Carlow (guest supervision) 🇮🇪
- Maribor University (guest lecture) 🇸🇮
Teaching style
I consider myself a hands-on educator. Learning happens when you exercise competence and make mistakes in a safe environment. I hold this belief very strongly. I have been know to surprise and challenge colleagues in the teaching methods that I use.
I am a firm believer of the Socratic method: discovery through questions. That also set me in the path of becoming a coach. My students have always been smart individuals: I would have been a fool to expect them to be a mere receptacle of information.
Students describe my classes and workshops as interactive and engaging. It is especially so when I have the freedom to choose teaching methods. Because of this, my student surveys have scored exceptionally high.
Any fool can know. The point is to understand.
Albert Einstein