Iryna Karaush

Iryna has been a dedicated member of the WSD faculty for over a decade. Currently serving as the Chair and faculty in Product Design, she holds an MBA(c) in Sustainable Management (SUMAS), a Master of Advanced Studies in Architecture (UBC), and a Bachelor of Architecture (Odessa, Ukraine). 

Applying an interdisciplinary approach to her teaching practice, Iryna integrates various methods to provide a holistic educational experience. She encourages collaboration between disciplines, engages in real-world projects, incorporates sustainable principles and ethics, and provides students with research opportunities.

With a strong architectural background, Iryna’s professional journey encompasses furniture design and the sports apparel industry. In furniture design, she collaborated with an international company to create pieces harmonizing sustainable functionality, and aesthetics. In sports apparel, she developed performance-enhancing tennis gear, prioritizing advanced materials and ergonomic design for female athletes’ comfort and efficiency. Through collaboration and cross-cultural exchanges, Iryna integrates social and ecological sustainability into her work, aiming at meaningful contributions to product design and innovation.

Iryna’s academic research focuses on the cutting-edge discipline of food design, exploring the intricate dynamics of human-food interaction across various scales of food systems. She is a founder of the Design Plus Food Atelier (D+FA) research group at the Wilson School of Design. The group explores the social and material meanings of food, investigates emerging food-related issues, and explores future opportunities for sustainable food systems in the context of climate change.