This lecture explores the critical technical practices of grassroots innovation, reframing how we approach design for, with, and by communities. Drawing on the concept of intrinsic design, in which communities drive their own design processes from the ground up, we will examine how sustainability and self-directed change emerge through criticality rather than through top-down solutions. Through concrete project-based examples, such as an open-source bamboo tower, that illustrate systemic design principles, we will discuss how these grassroots practices address hyperlocal societal challenges. Aimed at students across all disciplines, the talk highlights how this critical, community-driven approach is not only replicable anywhere but also essential for rethinking participation and trust in design practice.

Dr. Regina Sipos is a Postdoctoral Researcher at the Technical University of Munich, Chair of Design and Transdisciplinarity, working at the intersection of design, technology, and society. Here, she is also the Principal Investigator of T:INTERFACE, a project focusing on translational design and knowledge valorisation. She wrote her PhD thesis at the Technical University of Berlin, focusing on intrinsic and collaborative technology design and innovation in grassroots communities in the Global South, and led the EU-funded Critical Making project. She is the Founder and Director of the Social-Digital Innovation Initiative, facilitating the cross-pollination of open-source technology and social innovation. She created and directed the United Nations' first global co-creation and incubation platform for social entrepreneurs working with technology at the International Telecommunication Union (ITU). Her book, titled Critical Technical Practice in Grassroots Innovation, was published in 2025 by Springer Nature.