Dr Steven Birnie
Senior Lecturer
Design, Manufacturing and Engineering Management
Personal statement
Dr Steven Birnie is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Design, Manufacturing & Engineering Management (DMEM) at the University of Strathclyde. He brings over 23 years of experience in design and innovation, having transitioned from industry to academia in 2023.
During his professional career, Dr Birnie received numerous international accolades, including the Good Design Award, IDSA Award, and Scottish Design Award, and is the inventor of 45 granted US patents. Prior to joining academia, he spent nearly 20 years with NCR Corporation, a global leader in self-service technologies, where he led the design, usability, and accessibility of hardware solutions and championed the organisation’s early focus on sustainability. He continues to maintain strong industry links.
Dr Birnie’s academic research sits at the intersection of design, manufacturing, innovation, and sustainability, with a particular focus on the circular economy and engineering net zero. He leads teaching in Embodiment Design, Sustainable Design and Manufacture, Design Methods, and Multi-Disciplinary Perspectives of Sustainable Development, and supervises doctoral research on the role of Industry 4.0 in advancing the circular economy.
He was Principal Investigator on the recently completed £376,171 SPS-funded ExtendPlus programme, which analysed and baselined the carbon output of 288 SMEs in the Greater Glasgow region. He is also an active member of DMEM’s Design Research Group, contributing expertise in design education, design management, and sustainable product development.
Through this unique combination of industry experience and academic insight, Dr Birnie advances the integration of sustainable development principles into both practice and education, strengthening the University of Strathclyde’s role as a leader in design-led innovation for a sustainable future.
Prize And Awards
- Completion of Strathclyde Supervisor Programme
- Recipient
- 9/3/2026
- University of Strathclydes Strategic Themes R&KE Impact Prize
- Recipient
- 25/8/2025
- Scottish Design Awards 2021
- Recipient
- 20/8/2021
- European Product Design Award
- Recipient
- 7/7/2021
- NCR R&D Excellence Award
- Recipient
- 1/8/2015
- NCR R&D Excellence Award
- Recipient
- 1/4/2011
Publications
- Enabling Circularity Through Enhanced Digital Product Passports : A Field Application Study for NCR Atleos
- Thomson Rachel, Birnie Steven
- (2025)
- Reflections on an education for sustainable development mapping exercise
- Reeves Florence, Birnie Steven, Mendibil Kepa
- 27th International Conference on Engineering and Product Design Education (2025)
- Method for reducing power usage at a remote terminal
- Birnie Steven, Denny Ian McFarlane, Vettraino Peter
- (2025)
- Extend Plus Project Report : Carbon Baselining SMEs: Insights from the Glasgow City Region
- Birnie Steven, Marchbanks Thomas, kutsarova lyudmila, McIlroy Marcella, Ward Rachel
- (2025)
- Environmental Monitoring
- Birnie Steven, Divine Casey
- (2025)
- Vehicle
- Swaine Stephen, Smith Andrew William Douglas, McCafferty Liam, Birnie Steven, Munro Marshall
- (2025)
Professional Activities
- Viva Convenor - Rasoul Karami.
- Examiner
- 13/8/2025
- PhD Convenor
- Examiner
- 6/11/2024
- Design for Inclusion
- Speaker
- 21/10/2024
- Product Design Scotland - Special Interest Group
- Speaker
- 6/3/2024
- NCR - University of Dundee - Research Opportunities
- Participant
- 15/2/2023
- NCR Dundee Hackathon
- Participant
- 25/8/2022
Projects
- Blairbeth - Market Exploration
- Birnie, Steven (Principal Investigator)
- 02-Jan-2026 - 30-Jan-2026
- Blairbeth (Scottish Enterprise High Growth Spin Out)
- Birnie, Steven (Principal Investigator)
- 02-Jan-2026 - 31-Jan-2027
- Blairbeth - Scottish Enterprise Market Exploration
- Thomson, Rachel (Principal Investigator) Birnie, Steven (Principal Investigator)
- £5k awarded from Scottish Enterprise to Blairbeth to conduct market exploration and validation.
- 09-Jan-2026 - 30-Jan-2026
- Philippines presentation
- Birnie, Steven (Principal Investigator)
- 20-Jan-2024 - 20-Jan-2024
- Engineers Without Borders UK: Engineering for People Design Challenge
- Brisco, Ross (Academic) Ellsworth-Krebs, Katherine (Academic) Birnie, Steven (Academic) Josifovic, Aleksandar (Academic)
- Engineers Without Borders South Africa and Engineers Without Borders UK are delighted to be partnering with Engineers Without Borders Australia and their engineering team in Cambodia to deliver this year’s programme, set in the rural village Pu Ngaol (pronounced ‘pu now’), in the forested hills of the Mondulkiri province in eastern Cambodia.
The top five participating teams from each university will be invited to submit their ideas to a panel of expert reviewers. The leading teams from this review stage, including at least one team from each university, are invited to the Grand Finals, where you will showcase your work to peers, academics, industry representatives and on the collaborative workspace, Crowdsolve. There are three awards to compete for: First and second prize, which are selected by an expert panel of judges, and the People’s Prize, which is decided by a public vote. - 11-Jan-2023 - 29-Jan-2025
- Extend Plus
- Birnie, Steven (Principal Investigator) Andrews, Colin (Co-investigator) Butler, David (Co-investigator)
- 23-Jan-2023 - 31-Jan-2025
Contact
Dr
Steven
Birnie
Senior Lecturer
Design, Manufacturing and Engineering Management
Email: steven.birnie@strath.ac.uk
Tel: 548 2411