Prof Ing. Philip Farrugia, a warranted mechanical engineer, is a Professor in Product Development with the Department of Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering at the University of Malta. His current research interests include Data Driven Design, Design for Health and Well-being, Design of Product Service Systems, Design for Additive Manufacturing and Human Factors in Design. He has published over seventy peer reviewed research papers in fields related to product development. Furthermore, Prof. Ing. Farrugia is very active in securing competitive research funding, of which he managed to attract ca. two million Euros from various programmes, including Horizon2020, over a period of 8 years. The research work conducted in these projects resulted in a significant Ph.D. student supervision, peer-reviewed publications in international renowned journal and conference proceedings, awards and intellectual property protection.
Philip graduated with First Class Honours in Mechanical Engineering and obtained his Ph.D. related to 'Computer-Aided Early Form Modelling'. He coordinated the taught masters course in integrated product development for ten years. Prof. Ing. Farrugia is also a visiting lecturer at the Faculty of Applied Science and Mechatronics, Munich University of Applied Sciences. He is currently the regional coordinator of the Institution of Engineering Designers (IED) UK.
Engineering Educational Competence Development on Customisable Wearable Rehabilitation Devices (EDUWEAR) Sept'24 - Funding body & Project Value (FB&PV): Erasmus+ (Eur400,000)
A Cognitive Behavioural Therapy-Based Smart Patient-Centred System to Control Overactive Bladder (BEAT-DP) Sept'23 - Funding body: Malta Council For Science & Technology (MCST): Commercialisation Voucher Programme
Conformity and Usability Risk Assessment for SMARTCLAP Commercialisation (CuraCLAP) Mar'23 - FB&PV: MCST: FUSION R&I: Go-To-Market Accelerator Programme (Eur94,221)
A User-Centred Smart Platform for Designing and Manufacturing Self-Sanitising and Sustainable Packaging (SMARTSPACK) Jan'23 - FB&PV: MCST 2022 FUSION Technology Development Programme (TDP) (Eur319,274)
A User-Experiences Based Approach for Designing Connected Speech and Language Therapeutic Toys in a Smart City (SALTT-CITY) Jan'23 - FB&PV: MCST's Smart Cities Thematic Programme (Eur153,955)
A Smart User-Centred Product Service System for Evaluating and Developing Functional Hand Skills in Children with Cerebral Palsy (SMARTCLAP) Sept'20 - FB&PV: MCST 2020 FUSION TDP (Eur206,656) W: smartclaproject.com
Rider-Centred Product+Service System for Designing Safer Motorcycles (RIDE+SAFE) Sept'18 - Mar'22 FB&PV: MCST 2018 FUSION TDP (Eur211,078) W: rideandsafe.com
Development of a Device Supporting Children with Language Impairment (SPEECHIE) Jul'16 - Nov'19 FB&PV: MCST: 2016 FUSION R&I TDP (Eur211,221) W: speechieproject.com
Personalised Recovery Through A Multi-User Environment: Virtual Reality For Rehabilitation (PRIME-VR2) Workpackage leader Oct'19 - Mar'23 FB&PV: Horizon2020, Call H2020-ICT-2018-2020, RIA (Eur4M, UM's share: Eur394,196) W: prime-vr2.eu
Associate Editor of Smart Hospitals Section of CSBJ (metrics 6.155 Impact Factor, 7.88 Cite Score)
Other:
Sept'23: Patent 'Straddle-type vehicle simulator' filed at the UK patent office (ref.: GB2607920)
Nov'19, Feb'22: WIPO IP Enterprise Trophy for SPEECHIE and RIDE+SAFE, awarded by the Malta Intellectual Property. Both projects won the Technological Initiative category.