Profile
Deborah Andrews
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About Me:
I am a designer and passionate about sustainability! I live in the suburbs at the very west of tube zone 6. I love going for walks along the river Thames, in the many famous parks and Kew Gardens nearby and spending time my friends. We go to live music events, dance performances, theatre and exhibitions and always have a great time!
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My pronouns are:
Deborah – she/her
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My Work:
I am a professor of Design for Sustainability and Circularity and teach students, do research and work with businesses helping them to become more sustainable. Sustainability is about caring for the environment, and balancing this with social and economic factors.
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Read more
I measure environmental, social and economic impacts – Life Cycle Sustainability Assessment – and develop strategies, tools and design and engineer products to help businesses and people in general to live and work more sustainably.
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My Typical Day:
Wake up at 5.45, yoga from 6.30-7.30, shower and breakfast – porridge in the winter and muesli in the summer. Either travel by train to the university or work at home so work starts between 8.30 and 9am. My work includes teaching (design and engineering students), doing research and/or working with businesses (enterprise projects) all day. Get my vegetarian or vegan lunch – sometimes I meet friends and colleagues, sometimes I eat on my own) and work all afternoon until 6-7pm depending on what I need to do. Catch the train home and/or go for a walk after a long day in front of the PC. In the summer we walk for a couple of hours in the evening, which is lovely!
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What I'd do with the prize money:
Organise a design competition and small exhibition of ideas to help to make your (entrants) neighbourhood a nicer and more Sustainable place to live and study!
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Education:
I went to a state grammar school
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Qualifications:
My educational journey is not very conventional considering what I do now!
It is a good example of how careers evolve – its difficult deciding what you would like to do when you are considering GCSEs – a good general education helps you to be flexible later on. My school did not offer design so I took it up when i left school.
7 x GCSEs – Eng lang and lit, maths, French, biology, geography and Latin – one of the most interesting and useful subjects that I studied!
3 x A levels – French English and Biology
undergrad – in Product Design at Chelsea College of Art and Design
post-grad MA in Industrial Design at the Royal College of Art
PhD – decorate – in the Dept. Mechanical Engineering at Imperial College
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Work History:
I worked on community arts and play projects where I spent quite a lot of time working with children and young people with learning difficulties and different physical abilities
Freelance designer working on my own and in design consultancies and designer-maker working on my own
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Current Job:
University lecturer and researcher in sustainable design, manufacturing, engineering and sustainability in general – how do people affect the environment and how can design and engineering help to develop more equal societies?
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Employer:
London South Bank University
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My Interview
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What did you want to be after you left school?
A designer
Were you ever in trouble at school?
No - I was quite quiet - although my students find this difficult to believe!
If you weren't doing this job, what would you choose instead?
A travel writer
Who is your favourite singer or band?
I love music so this is a very difficult question to answer ; current favourites include SAULT and Lianne Le Havas; very old favourites include New Order and Ella Fitzgerald.
What's your favourite food?
Indian vegetarian - like channa masala, chilli paneer and curry!
If you had 3 wishes for yourself what would they be? - be honest!
Be an astronaut and see the earth from space, travel more to south America and Africa, live on a tropical island for a year
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