Design Education Panel Discussion
IDCS ◆ PDP ◆ WEB2202

Do you want to find out what our Design Education Panellists think Interior Designers should be paid? Then join IDCS for our Design Education Panel Discussion on Thu 26 May 2022 at 3-4pm SGT via Zoom. Register for your tickets now to hear from our local and international panellists on where they think Design Education should be heading.

Dennis Ng

Course Chair in the Diploma in Interior Architecture & Design, Temasek Polytechnic’s School of Design

Dennis was architecturally trained at The National University of Singapore, and furthered his studies at The University of Melbourne. Upon his return to Singapore, he practiced at a boutique architecture firm, DLAB, specializing in residential and commercial interior design and architecture. He was one of the founding partners at WYNK; Collaborative, while holding a concurrent adjunct position in the Diploma in Architecture at Singapore Polytechnic. His passion in grooming the next wave of young designers has brought him to pursue spatial design pedagogy since 2015. Dennis is currently the Course Chair in the Diploma in Interior Architecture & Design at Temasek Polytechnic’s School of Design.

Faizan Shah

Design Education Chair & Council Member, Interior Design Confederation Singapore

Lecturer, Singapore Polytechnic

Faizan Shah was born in Singapore and educated from the Singapore Polytechnic with a Diploma in Architectural Technology and consequently at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT, B.Arch) with Distinction in Australia, 2009 & Universitat Innsbruck, 2013 M.Arch (Dip.-Ing) with Excellence. There, he developed an interest in the complexities of engaging architecture with focus on the poetical and representational through theory and instruments of perception. He has collectively apprenticed in several architectural design firms before pursuing his undergraduate studies and practised as a multi-disciplinary interior designer in Singapore upon graduation. Faizan Shah is currently a lecturer leading the Generative Design Studio in Singapore Polytechnic’s Interior Design School which explores cutting-edge generative design methodologies and approaches.

Jola Starzak

Head of Faculty of Design - School of Form at SWPS University (University of Social Sciences and Humanities) in Warsaw
Co-founder and partner at Atelier Starzak Strebicki

Jola Starzak Architect and urban planner, co-founder and partner at Atelier Starzak Strebicki. Licensed architect in the Netherlands and in Poland, member of Board of National Chamber of Polish Architects. Following her studies in the Netherlands and after working for Korteknie Stuhlmacher Architecten in Rotterdam, she established in 2012 together with Dawid Strebicki her own architectural practice Atelier Starzak Strebicki. The office works within the field of interiors, architectural and urban planning projects in Belgium, Germany and Poland. What makes architectural processes intriguing is the diverse scale of work: from interiors, through single family houses, research, urban strategies, and masterplans up to the scale of public buildings such as: school and kindergarten in Dilbeek, Belgium. The studio got also invited to participate in the 15th International Architecture Biennale in Venice, where one of their projects was exhibited in the Belgian Pavilion. Jola Starzak parallel to her architectural activities is teaching and holding the position of Head of Faculty of Design - School of Form at SWPS University (University of Social Sciences and Humanities) in Warsaw.

Khoi Vo

Vice President for Industry Relations, SCADpro | Giving, Savannah College of Art and Design

Since 2009, Khoi Vo served in Savannah College of Art and Design's Interior Designdepartment. While chair, he led the department to its No. 1 rankings by DesignIntelligence of both the undergraduate (2012-2016 & 2018) and graduate (2012-2014, 2016 & 2018) programs. For 2018, DesignIntelligence named him as one of the 25 Most Admired Educators in the fields of architecture, interior design, and landscape architecture, recognizing his active educational engagement in the design community and his leadership in innovative interdisciplinary collaboration. Vo is active with the Council of Interior Design Accreditation (CIDA) as a site visitor. He served as a member on the national board of the American Society of Interior Designers (ASID) where he serves on the awards committee, as a foundation trustee, and as a student advisory council member. He is also a board member of the Interior Design Educators Council Foundation.

Low Cheaw Hwei 

Head of Design, Philips ASEAN Pacific and Design Consulting, Asia
Head of Government & Public Affairs, Philips Singapore

Mr Low Cheaw Hwei is Head of Design for Philips ASEAN Pacific and Design Consulting for Asia. He is also the Head of Government and Public Affairs for Philips in Singapore. Currently, on the Philips ASEAN Pacific and Philips Experience Design management team, Cheaw Hwei looks after the overall direction of design in the region. He leads the company’s pivot to a design-led transformation as Philips, a leader in healthcare technology, moves towards experience and solutions-based innovation. His second role brings synergy in driving both design and innovation initiatives into the work that Philips does with the public sector in Singapore. Cheaw Hwei is currently chairperson of the Design Education Advisory Committee(DEAC) a national level initiative set up to push the agenda of design into the industry and education sector.

Perry Ng

Course Manager, Architecture & Interior Design, School of Design & Media, ITE College Central

Perry is currently the Course Manager for Architecture & Interior Design courses at theInstitute of Technical Education, College Central. He graduated with an Architecture degree from the National University of Singapore and also obtained a Master in Design from Curtin University, Australia. He has over 33 years of work and teaching experience in the design industry and academic institutions. He was also actively involved in the local, regional and international Interior design professional organizations between 1993 and 2020.

Wayne Oh


DyManager (Experiential Product & Interior Design - XPID) | School of Design & Media, Nanyang Polytechnic

With 12 years of teaching experience, Wayne Oh helms the Diploma in Experiential Product & Interior Design (XPID) as Course Manager / Senior Lecturer in School of Design & Media, Nanyang Polytechnic. Passionate in Advanced Fabrication; Experimental Architecture in timber technologies, Wayne embarked onto an exciting journey at the Architectural Association AA’s satellite Hooke Park campus where he spent 1 year researching and developing innovative application of timber in architecture and 1:1 hands-on fabrication through prototyping. He graduated with a Master of Science, Design + Make in 2017. Wayne is the Institutional / Country Expert for WorldSkills Competition (Visual Merchandising category). He has mentored and coached competitors from Team Singapore to compete in WorldSkills International held in London, Leipzig Germany and Kazan Russia with good winning records. He will once again represent Team Singapore as Expert to compete in WorldSkills Shanghai in October 2022.

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