Rita B Jacinto
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Biography
Rita graduated in Ergonomics from the Technical University of Lisbon (Portugal). Her final thesis involved the evaluation of hospital administrative staff work and their musculoskeletal disorders. Following her first degree, Rita worked as an Ergonomist at Dexia Sofaxis and at the Occupational Health Department at the Curry Cabral Hospital, both in Lisbon. During her studies and professional life Rita got involved in cultural activities for youngsters within Austria, Chile and France where she could explore her interest in cultural diversity and development processes in different communities. Captivated by her interest in inclusive design and its tangible impact on design practices and social policies, Rita moved to England in 2007 to gain an MSc in Human Factors for Inclusive Design at Loughborough University. In her MSc thesis she collaborated with the Ergonomics Research and Safety Institute (Loughborough University) in partnership with the i~design Team, focusing on the feasibility of an inclusive design tool for designers. The work was conducted within an EPSRC project, in which both the Engineering Design Centre (University of Cambridge) as well as the Helen Hamlyn Centre (Royal College of Art) collaborated towards finding a design tool to develop products for independent living.
