Dirk Loyens is a distinguished academic and professional in the product design field. He earned his Ph.D. in architecture from the University of Minho's School of Architecture in 2012. Prior to that, he completed a Master's in Industrial Design in 1984 and a Master's in Integrated Product Development in 1996, both from the University of Antwerp. He also holds a Master's in Equipment and Product Design from the University of Porto, obtained in 1998. With over 28 years of experience in teaching design-related courses, Dirk is currently an Associate Professor at ESMAD (College of Media, Art, and Design). In addition to his academic role, he is a senior researcher at uniMAD-ID+, and has been a senior consultant with INEGI, where he worked for over twelve years until last year. Furthermore, he contributes to the Porto Design Factory as a coordinator of educational and scientific programs. Dirk has authored various book chapters and has three registered patents to his name. He has also been an active mentor, having supervised several master's theses. His expertise has been recognized in the field, where he has acted as a consultant and researcher on five funded design projects. His engagement with the wider design community includes organizing one event and participating in four others.

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• ORCID • 0000-0001-5999-7093