
Agnes XUE
Profile
Biography
A Red-Dot and A’Prime Design award-winner and the first Industrial Designer in Singapore to be awarded the Doctoral of Philosophy (PhD) qualification from the National University of Singapore (NUS), Dr Agnes Xue received the NUS President’s Graduate Fellowship and was a NUS Research Scholar, investigating on better approaches in the design of self-care devices and applications for women’s health. She is currently an Associate Professor and Head of Design Factory at the Singapore Institute of Technology (SIT). Her research interest has always been exploring better designs for healthcare that will have user-centric impact in this digital age. She was previously the Curriculum Head at A*STAR-EDB Singapore Stanford Biodesign programme office and has trained over 400 budding medical device entrepreneurs. As a research-oriented design educator, Agnes is a frequent speaker at local and international conferences. During her time outside of the university, she has invested and started two design consultancies. In her personal capacity, she volunteers in the Council of Lupus Association Singapore for over a decade.
SIT Appointments
- Head of Design Factory@SIT– Present
- Associate ProfessorPresent
- Co-Chairperson, Cluster Applied Research Committee–
- Programme Director, GSA Design Programmes
Education
- Doctor of PhilosophyNational University of Singapore , Singapore
- Bachelor of Arts (Industrial Design)National University of Singapore , Singapore
- Executive Education, Stanford BiodesignStanford University , United States
- Masters, Service Design ThinkingCopenhagen Institute of Interaction Design , Denmark
Achievements
- Excellence in Applied Research (BCD Cluster)–
- 8th Asia Pacific Eldercare Innovation Awards, Finalist
- Nominee for the SIT Teaching Excellence Award AY2019–
- A’Design Award, “Differently abled and seniors’ assistance design”, Nomination
- Nominee for the SIT Teaching Excellence Award AY2018–
- 6th Asia Pacific Eldercare Innovation Awards, Finalist
- Singapore Interior Design Awards, Honrable Mention, Illunary Award
- James Dyson Award Regional Judging & People’s Choice Winner, Singapore
- NUS Postgraduate Research Scholarship–
- NUS President’s Graduate Fellowship–
- Dongguan Cup Intertional Industrial Design Awards, China
- Red Dot Award in International Design Concepts, Germany
- Toshiyuki Kita Internship Programme, Japan
- Dean's List, National University of Singapore–
Professional Certification
- Entrepreneurship in Emerging EconomiesHarvardX
Professional Memberships
- Service Design Network– Present
- Design Business Chamber Singapore– Present
- Design Management Institute– Present
- Society of Interior Designers Singapore– Present
- Amazing Design People's List (Mentor, Singapore)Present
- Specialist Adult Educator (Curriculum Development), Adult Education Professionalisation (AEP)Present
Corporate Experience
- Editorial Memberships, Reviewer for International Journal of Medical InformaticsPresent
- Technical Grant Reviewer for Academic Medicine-National Health Innovation Centre (AM-NHIC), SingaporePresent
- Co-Founder, Copper Design Associates P/LPresent
- Grant Reviewer for COJ Robotics & Artificial IntelligencePresent
- Co-Founder, JIA Studio LLPPresent
- Grant Reviewer for National Health Innovation Centre, SingaporePresent
- Singapore-Stanford Biodesign Curriculum Head–
Research
Research Interests
-
Design of medical devices
-
Health technologies
-
Future experiences of health and care
Current Projects
- Co-Investigator of Foot Care for U @SIT & SKH– Present
The Design and Development of a Full Contact Insole for Plantar Pressure Measurements in the Treatment of Diabetic Foot Ulcers. SIT Ignition Grant, Approved Budget: $172,500, Period: 2 years (07/03/22-06/03/24), PI: A/P Desmond Chong
- Co-Investigator of Community Exhibitions on Project Kampong Lorong Buangkok: Preserving Singapore Mainland's Last Kampong– Present
National Heritage Board, Major Project Grant, Approved Budget: $81,800, Period: 2 years (08/02/22-07/02/24), PI: A/P Intan Azura Mokhtar
- Co-Investigator of Gamification in eHealth Intervention to enhance learning for post-stroke rehabilitation education– Present
NMRC Healthy Longevity Catalyst Awards, Approved Budget: $69,000, Period: 2 years (01/10/21-30/09/23), PI: A/P Elaine Siow
- Principal Investigator of HEALS: a simple, cost-effective and comfortable solution for lower limb immobilization after foot and ankle injuries– Present
SingHealth Academic Clinical Programme, Approved Budget:$80,000, Period: 3 years (15/04/21-14/04/24), Clinical PI: Dr Andrew Chou
- Principal-Investigator of PET/CET Design Education Landscape Study– Present
Commissioned by Design Singapore Council, Approved Budget: $267,200, Period: 1 year (15/01/21-31/03/22), Industry Partner: Chemistry Team Pte Ltd
- Co-Investigator of MOTIVATE: Multi-modal training program to promote physical activity after stroke– Present
Approved Budget: SIT Ignition Grant, $124,800; Period: 2 years (01/07/20 to 30/06/22), PI: A/P Kwah Li Khim
Past Projects
- Co-Investigator of HEALS: a simple, cost-effective and comfortable solution for lower limb immobilization after foot and ankle injuries–
Singapore Biodesign Prototyping Support Grant, Approved Budget:$35,600, Period: 9 months (01/07/21-31/03/242), Clinical PI: Dr Andrew Chou, SIT PI: A/P Desmond Chong
- Co-Investigator of Online financial tool for holistic evaluation of innovation projects–
Approved Budget: SIT CoLEAD SGD$14,910
Period: 1.5 years (01/04/19 to 30/09/20), PI: Asst/P Pearpilai Jutasompakorn - Principal-Investigator of Designing new VR games for Physical, Social and Cognitive Wellbeing of Stroke Survivors in Rehabilitation–
Approved Budget: SIT Seed Fund SGD$9,250, Period: 1 year
- Co-Investigator of Project Kampong Lorong Buangkok: Preserving Singapore mainland’s last kampong–
Approved Budget: SIT Ignition Fund SGD$150,000
Period: 2 years (13/12/18 to 12/12/20), PI: Asst/P Intan Azura Mokhtar - Co-Investigator of Bio-inspired hip protector based on exo-skeleton of mantis shrimp–
Approved Budget: 10th MOE TIF Grant SGD$456,500
Period: 2 years (01/01/18 to 31/12/19), PI: A/P Soh Chew Beng - Principal-Investigator of The Nao humanoid: Innovation and product development for ageing-in-place–
Approved Budget: $11,000 funded by St Luke's ElderCare Ltd
Period: Q2 & Q3 2017 - Principal-Investigator of Validation of a Device for Treatment of Hemorrhoids–
Approved Budget: A*STAR Exploit Technologies Pte Ltd (ETPL) $453,730, Period: 2 years (01/11/16 to 31/12/18) Industry partner: Privi Medical
- Principal-Investigator of Arm Skate Rehab Device–
Approved Budget: SIT Ignition Grant SGD$99,700, Period: 1.5 years (01/07/16 to 31/12/17)
- Applying the Female-focused Acceptance Model (FAM) to Develop a Healthcare Information System for Ageing Women–
Research grant winner, NUS Research Fellow; Approved Budget: NUS AcRF Tier 1 SGD$250,000; Period: 3 years (01/04/09 to 31/03/12)
- The Application of Female-Centred Care Methodology to the Development of a Mobile Health Communication Unit for Women–
Research grant winner, NUS Research Scholar; Approved Budget: NUS AcRF Tier 1 SGD$89,990
Period: 3 years (01/01/06 to 30/06/09)
Publication
Journal Papers
L, Chang, CC, Yen, L, Xue, BC, Tai, HC, Chan, HBL, Duh & M, Choolani. Factors associated with mobile health information seeking among Singaporean women, Journal of Women & Aging 2016, DOI:10.1080/08952841.2015.1065144
Xue, L, Yen, CC., Chang, L., Chan, HC., Tai, BC., Tan, SB., Duh, HBL and Choolani, M. An Exploratory Study of Ageing Women's Perception on Access to Health Informatics via a Mobile phone-based Intervention. International Journal of Medical Informatics 2012, Vol 81 No. 9, pp 637-648.
Lim, S., Xue, L, Yen, CC., Chang, L., Chan, HC., Tai, BC., Duh, HBL and Choolani, M. A Study on Singaporean Women's Acceptance of Using Mobile Phones to Seek Health Information. International Journal of Medical Informatics 2011, Vol. 80, pp. e189-e202.
Xue, L., Yen, CC., Choolani, M. and Chan, HC. The Perception and Intention to Adopt Female-Focused Healthcare Applications (FHA): Comparing between Healthcare Workers and Non-Healthcare Workers. International Journal of Medical Informatics 2009, Vol. 78, pp. 248-258.
Xue, L., Yen, CC., Boucharenc, CG. and Choolani, M. The Design Evolution of Medical Devices: moving from object to user. The Journal of Design Research 2008, Vol. 7 No. 4, pp 411-438.
Xue, L. and Yen, CC. Towards Female Preferences in Design – a pilot study. International Journal of Design 2007, Vol. 1 No. 3, pp 11-27.
Conferences
Jutasompakorn, P. Atmosukarto, I, Kurbanhusen, MS and Xue, A. A Finance-based Self-Learning Online Platform for Holistic Evaluation of Innovation Projects. Proceedings of IEEE International Conference on Teaching, Assessment, and Learning for Engineering (TALE), 2021, 5-8 Dec, Wuhan, China.
Lim, G and Xue, A, 2020. Transforming Healthcare “From Quality to Value” through Applied Learning Pedagogy and Transformational Learning Philosophy. Applied Learning Conference 2020, 30-31 Jan, Singapore.
Teo, N and Xue, A, 2020. Service-Learning and Design Education – How might we encourage applied learning for stronger community engagement? Applied Learning Conference 2020, 30-31 Jan, Singapore.
Xue, A., Chong, D., Tan, A. and Xu, T., Design and Multidisciplinarity : Co-creation in practice, International
Conference on Applied Education, Technology and Innovation (THEi AETI 2019), 16- 18 April, Hong Kong.Xue, A., Tan, A., Wong, D. and Tan, K. The Nao humanoid: Innovation and product development for ageing-in-place. Poster session presented at the Global Conference on Integrated Care, Singapore, 1-3 Feb 2018.
Xue, A., Chong, D., Tan, A. and Xu, T. A Multi-Disciplinary Effort to Change by Design. Poster session presented at the Design Education Summit, Singapore, 1-2 Nov 2018
Xue, A. Healthcare Live Briefs in Interior Design Education: Enhancing the Student Learning Experience. Design for Health 2017. Poster session presented at the Applied Learning Conference, Singapore, 25-26 Jan 2018
Xue, A., Chong, D., Tan, A. and Xu, T. Optimising engagement for post-stroke rehabilitation. Poster session presented at the Global Conference on Integrated Care, Singapore, 1-3 Feb 2018.
Xue, L, Yen, CC., Chang, L., Chan, HC., Tai, BC. Duh, HBL and Choolani, M. Journeying toward Female-focused m-Health applications, Advances in Human Factors and Ergonomics 2012- 14 Volume Set: Proceedings of the 4th AHFE Conference 21-25 July 2012. Eds. Gavriel Salvendy, West LaFayette, Waldemar Karwowski, (2012). Florida: CRC Press. (Invited paper) Applied Human Factors and Ergonomics International 2012, 21 - 25 Jul 2012, San Francisco, California, United States
Xue, L, Yen, CC., Chang, L., Tai, BC., Chan, HC., Duh, HBL and Choolani, M. Mobile Phone-Based Health Application for Women 4th International Symposium on Applied Sciences in Biomedical and Communication Technologies 2011. (Invited paper).
Xue, L., Boucharenc, CG., Gaubert, C. and Coirié, M. The Pleasure of Water – A Comparative Study between Paris and Singapore. Water Convention Conference 2011. Manuscript Draft no.: IWA-6425
Xue, L., Duh, HBL., Yen, CC., Chan, HC., Tan, SB., Tang, WE. and Choolani, M. Health informatics for elderly women – an exploratory study, CHI 2010 workshop - Senior-Friendly Technologies: Interaction Design for the Elderly held in conjunction with CHI2010, Atlanta, GA, USA, 10 April 2010.
Xue, L. and Yen, CC. Thinking Design for Women’s Health. Design Connexity Proceeding Book, ed. Julian Malins (2009): 508-512. Aberdeen: Gray School of Art, The Robert Gordon University. (Design Connexity: 2009 Eighth Conference of the European Academy of Design, 1-3 Apr 2009, The Robert Gordon University, Aberdeen, Scotland.
Xue, L. and Yen, CC. Introducing a Female-Focused Design Strategy (FDS) for Future Healthcare Design, paper accepted at the 6th Conference on Design & Emotion “Dare to Desire”, Hong Kong, 6th – 9th Oct 2008.
Xue, L., Boucharenc, CG., Yen, CC., and Choolani, M. A Review of Healthcare Devices: Moving Design from Object to User. Proceedings of the International Association of Societies of Design Research (IASDR) Conference “Emerging Trends in Design Research”, Hong Kong, 12th – 15th Nov 2007.
Yen, CC and Xue, L. Sketching or Cadding. Proceedings of the International Association of Societies of Design Research (IASDR) Conference “Emerging Trends in Design Research”, Hong Kong, 12th – 15th Nov 2007.
Xue, L., Yen, CC. and Choolani, M. Framework Examining Female User Response to GUI for E-Health Information. Proceedings of the Design Research Society Conference “Wonderground”, Lisbon, Portugal, 1st to 4th Nov, 2006.
Xue, L. and Yen, CC. Towards Pleasure-Based Approach in Design. Proceedings of the International Design Research Symposium, organized by (CREDITS) Research Center of Korea, Seoul, Republic of Korea, 10th – 11th Nov, 2006 pp 19-31.
Xue, L., Yen, CC. and Choolani, M. Framework Examining Female User Response to GUI for E-Health Information. Design Thinking and Innovation Conference, Towards a Global/Asian Perspective, collaboration with Cumulus, the European Association of Universities & Colleges of Art, Design and Media, Singapore, 29th - 31st Mar 2005.
Books
Xue, A, Tan, A, Chong, D and Xu, T Design and Multidisciplinarity: Co-creation in practice, in (ed) C Hong, W
Ma, Applied Degree Education and the Future of Work – Education 4.0. Lecture Notes in Educational Technology,
Springer Nature, Singapore.Xue, L, Yen, CC., Chang, L., Chan, HC., Tai, BC., Duh, HBL and Choolani, M. Journeying toward Female-focused m-Health applications, in (ed) GJ Yong, Advances in Affective and Pleasurable Design, CRC Press, Taylor & Francis Group, Florida, pp 295-305.
Teaching
Teaching Modules
Nursing, BSc (Hons)
- NUR1006 - Health Innovation and Informatics
Occupational Therapy, BSc
- OTY3918 - Healthcare Design Thinking
Mechanical Engineering, BEng (Hons)
- MEC2371 - Specialised Engineering Project
Past
- Interior Design Studio
- Mechanical Design Engineering FYP
- Design History and Theory
- Design Domain