Dr. Chris Doering
Creative Collaboration for Eco-Social Innovation
About
Roots & Visions:
I am a project leader, researcher, and designer focusing on eco-social innovation, sustainable urban transformation, and international collaboration. I grew up in a social housing estate in the east of Hamburg, a neighborhood marked by social challenges – an experience that has shaped my lifelong interest in the relationship between urban design and social cohesion.
After studying product design at Bauhaus University Weimar and completing a Ph.D. on the information architecture of municipal energy transitions, I worked at the Fraunhofer Society for Applied Research, and later in international projects with the German Development Cooperation (GIZ) in Sri Lanka and Egypt. From 2021 to 2024, I established a new Ph.D. program in eco-social design at Lucerne University of Applied Sciences in collaboration with the National Institute of Design (Ahmedabad, India).
Beyond academia, I have always been committed to hands-on innovation: as co-founder of “Open Design City” in Berlin, as coordinator of innovation ecosystems in the Global South, and currently as chair of the neighborhood alliance Kiezbündnis Klausenerplatz, where I work to foster a participatory and resilient community.
What drives me is the conviction that creative collaboration, strategic foresight, and social responsibility are key to shaping sustainable futures. My profile combines academic expertise, international project experience, and civic engagement – with a clear focus on making things happen by “designing for the real world”.
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