Biography
Miles Pennington is Professor of Design-Led Innovation at the University of Tokyo, Japan. He is the prospective Dean of the UTokyo College of Design, a new interdisciplinary programme focused on addressing complex societal challenges through design due to open in September 2027. He is also Director of the DLX Design Lab, an international and multidisciplinary lab that collaborates with researchers across the university to create value through design. Professor Pennington’s projects have included work on low-cost ocean monitoring, bio-intelligent systems, innovative healthcare devices, and explorations into metamaterials and coral conservation. Prior to joining The University of Tokyo in 2017, he led the Innovation Design Engineering (IDE) at the Royal College of Art, United Kingdom, a joint Master’s programme with Imperial College London, United Kingdom. He is an alumnus of IDE, graduating in 1992, and was also the founder and Head of the university’s Global Innovation Design (GID) programme. In addition to his core roles, he was a Director of Takram, London, an innovation consultancy with its headquarters in Tokyo, until 2017. He is currently Co-Director of the DLX Design Academy and has served as Specially Appointed Advisor to the President on Design Vision since April 2023.
Keynote Presentation (2025) | Design Unbound: Expanding the Frontiers of Design
