Human-centric Design: Neighbors presentsneighbourhood research and projects by Year 1 students taking Human-centredInnovation at HKU I-School. Hosted at Commons Lab from 17 to 23 November, theexhibition follows the course’s 2026 innovation challenge, “Makeneighbourhood”, which asks students to consider how neighbourly relationshipstake shape in Sai Wan.
The project begins with close observation ofeveryday places. Students identify locations where neighbourhood connectionsare already happening, alongside places where those connections could develop.They ask what each place makes possible, where people encounter difficulties,what workarounds residents have created and whose presence or needs may bemissing. These questions help teams move beyond broad labels and focus onparticular people who live or work locally.
Over the semester, students develop somethingthat people can use, try and respond to at Commons Lab. The exhibition bringstheir neighbourhood research into public view, connecting observations of locallife with the ideas and project responses that grow from them.
A public project event on 17 November,15:00–18:00, gives visitors an opportunity to engage with the students’ workand offer their views. The wider showcase creates a meeting point betweenuniversity learning and neighbourhood experience, inviting residents andvisitors to consider how human-centred innovation can begin with attention tothe people, relationships and everyday situations around us.
