Study trip to Volvo’s testing facility in Eskilstuna.
Mission: Coordinated mobility
Strategic Design (TD1)
2026
In this course, students role-played as experts working in a strategic design department, with the goal of proposing purposeful vehicle concepts that were part of a logistics operation and acted as positive brand ambassadors in crisis-hit situations. With the UN Sustainable Development Goals in mind, students explored how real-world needs could form the foundation for proposing new and relevant products for Volvo Construction Equipment in the year 2036. The aim was to equip students with the tools required to identify opportunities for future offerings that connected a brand to the market in a meaningful way. Intuition, rationality and creativity were key factors in exploring and proposing scalable solutions that would bring value to the company, its customers and society.
Process
Students worked in teams to explore how Volvo CE could contribute to future disaster-response and crisis-logistics systems. Through research, brand analysis, field studies, workshops and stakeholder engagement, they identified real-world challenges and developed strategic frameworks that informed the creation of new vehicle concepts for 2036. The projects were developed through an iterative design process that combined systems thinking, 2D exploration and 3D visualisation.
Outcome
The course resulted in a range of future mobility concepts designed to improve access, coordination and resilience in disaster-affected regions. Developed in collaboration with Volvo Construction Equipment, the final proposals combined brand strategy, transportation design and sustainability considerations, and were presented through professional pitches, visualisations and concept narratives.
Team Storms
This project focuses on storm-driven disasters, with a particular emphasis on typhoons and their impact on vulnerable regions in Southeast Asia. The team grounds the work in a specific context, looking at the Philippines, where recurring storms, fragile infrastructure, and limited resources create ongoing challenges for evacuation and recovery.
Team Wildfires
This project looks at wildfires through a wider lens, not just as isolated events, but as part of an ongoing and escalating system. The team frames these fires as something that unfolds over time, where preparation, response, and recovery overlap and repeat. Instead of designing for a single moment, they focus on how these cycles evolve year by year, shaped by climate change and growing uncertainty.
Team Earthquakes
This project explores how mobility can reshape disaster response, focusing on earthquakes as a critical and time-sensitive context. The team builds on a simple but urgent insight: survival rates drop sharply within the first hours after a quake, yet search and rescue teams often struggle to reach affected areas in time. Rather than focusing on new technologies, the proposal looks at how existing capabilities can be integrated and deployed faster, with access identified as the core bottleneck.
In collaboration with:
Workshop session at UID.
Lego model during workshop session at UID.
Workshop session at UID.
AGIS_01 and AGIS_02 operate as a connected system designed for storm-driven disasters, taking reference on typhoons in Southeast Asia and their impact on vulnerable regions. Combining agile local response with larger-scale logistics and coordination, the two vehicles support both daily industrial operations and emergency relief, helping improve mobility, situational awareness, and resilience before, during, and after a crisis. Created by Patipol Khempimook (AGIS_01) and Ronggang Bao (AGIS_02).
Volvo Lookout, Volvo Base and Volvo Treader present a connected approach to wildfire resilience, addressing the phases before, during, and after a disaster. Together, the three concepts support situational awareness, evacuation, and landscape recovery, demonstrating how Volvo's expertise in mobility and infrastructure could help communities navigate increasingly complex wildfire challenges. Created by Milena Kuhlmann (Volvo Lookout), Joona Pussinen (Volvo Base), and Alexander Borisch (Volvo Treader).
VOLVO TERRA presents a coordinated approach to earthquake response, centred on the critical challenge of reaching affected communities in the first hours after a disaster. Combining the ground-based logistics and route-clearing capabilities of Terra Mover with the amphibious rescue and coordination functions of Terra Wayfinder, the project demonstrates how Volvo's expertise in mobility, transport, and construction equipment could support faster, more effective disaster-relief operations. Created by Christopher Nõmmann (Terra Wayfinder) and Kaloyan Petrov (Terra Mover).
