2026 Diplomas – MAS Design Research for Digital Innovation

Published: June 24, 2026

Discover the diploma projects from the MAS Design Research for Digital Innovation.

Projects

Design Research for Digital Innovation (EPFL+ECAL Lab)

Côme Brocas – MountResilience

by Côme Brocas

How can we facilitate dialogue, engagement, and decision-making in response to the challenges of water management and climate change in mountain regions? This replicable demonstrator from the European project MountResilience is the result of participatory and interdisciplinary research conducted in the heart of the Valais Alps. The web application brings together experts and the general public around three interconnected sections: relative indicators provide a shared overview of the situation in real time, participatory field observations foster engagement, and a catalog raises awareness of local solutions. The evaluative study of the tool identified several factors influencing engagement in the design of climate change adaptation solutions.

Design Research for Digital Innovation (EPFL+ECAL Lab)

Zeynep Erol – Sofra – 2026 #1

by Zeynep Erol

Sofra is a culturally adaptive conversational agent that supports dietary behaviour change by understanding how people relate to food. Developed within the EU SWITCH project, it builds a personal food culture from photos, mind maps, and voice notes that users provide to represent their everyday practices, motivations, and heritage. This profile shapes the agent's tone and suggestions, moving guidance from generic to grounded in each person's context. Developed through three user studies, the project shows how cultural resonance makes dietary support more relevant, respectful, and engaging. Combining interaction design and AI prompt engineering, Sofra challenges universal approaches to health technology and advocates for systems that adapt to, rather than flatten, cultural differences.

Design Research for Digital Innovation (EPFL+ECAL Lab)

Sofia Lelis – Èvokâ II

by Sofia Lelis

Èvokâ II is an interactive installation that invites visitors to the Cantonal and University Library of Fribourg to enter into dialogue with the archives. Through an AI-based conversational interface, a presence living within the collections gathers memories connected to the canton and, in return, reveals fragments, stories and traces of Fribourg's heritage. This design research project explores how digital archives can become more accessible and resonant, questioning what connects us to a collective identity: places, emotions, stories and lived memories. Developed with the Swiss Data Science Center and supported by the Swiss National Library, Èvokâ II transforms archival consultation into an intimate experience, between personal memory and shared history.