Francesco Zurlo
Professor Francesco Zurlo is a Full Professor of Product Design and Strategic Design; since 2022, he has been the Dean of the School of Design at Politecnico di Milano. His research interests focus on strategic, systemic, and creative research-through-design, considering the sustainable impact of business innovations and human flourishing. Professor Zurlo is the Director of the Design + Strategies research group (Department of Design at Politecnico di Milano) and a member of the Scientific Committee of the Observatory of Design Thinking for Business of Politecnico di Milano and of ADI (Italian Design Association) Index, the selection of the most innovative Italian products and services, competing to win the prestigious national award "Compasso d'Oro." He is the Director of the Executive Master in Design Strategy and System Innovation (held in China for local professionals) and, as scientific co-director, he manages the Master in Strategic Design and the Master in Furniture Design of POLI.design, a Politecnico di Milano consortium.
Francesco Zurlo has been an advisor to local and international companies and institutions that want to implement design in their strategy. He is also the Scientific Coordinator of different European Projects (Horizon Europe, Horizon 2020, Interreg, Central Europe, Erasmus+).
He curated, with Stefano Micelli ("Cà Foscari" University, Venice), an exhibition - called "Design UP" - based on a selection of Compasso d'Oro awards in ADI Design Museum (Milan, June '24 – December 25), and he is a co-curator with Prof. Carlo Martino (University "La Sapienza", Rome) of the itinerant exhibition (2023-'25) – promoted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and ADI – "Italia Geniale" - and of the exhibitions promoted by the Ministry of Enterprises and Made in Italy, "Identitalia" (Rome: 13.02 – 06.04.2024; from September 2025 hosted in Museum M9, Venice-Mestre) and "L'italia dei Brevetti" (Rome: November 2024 – January 2025; from April 2025 hosted in Italian Pavillon, Osaka Expo).
He is the author of more than 100 international publications about strategic design, design-driven innovation, and design for organizations.