From 2015 to 2020 Felix Beck was Assistant Professor of Practice of Design at the Engineering department of NYU Abu Dhabi. During this time he established two research labs. He integrated
 over 50 Student Research Assistants, two researchers successfully funded through the Visiting Undergraduate Researchers Program, and six student interns into his research. He initiated an internship program with Cranleigh Highschool.
 He also collaborated with the NYUAD student initiative Ecoherence. Prof. Beck also initiated the NYUAD Precious Plastic Group, which later became a student interest group (SIG) that collects, washes, shreds, and creates new products from plastic collected on NYUAD campus. From 2020 until 10/2023 he was also Visiting Research Professor.

Prof. Felix Beck initiated the Lab for Narrative Technologies and Spatial Installations and started to work as Principal Investigator in September 2016. The NTSI-Lab is an interdisciplinary Design Research Lab in the Engineering Department of NYUAD. Within NYUAD's Center for Interacting Urban Networks (CITIES) and in collaboration with the Dhakira Lab for Heritage Research the focus is on R&D projects in the realm of Experimental Sustainable Designs, Future Technologies, and Social Compositions & Communal Infrastructures. 
 Examples for Beck's contribution to collaborative creative work with the NTSI-Lab:
 


• Competition Entry for UAE National Pavilion for Architecture Biennale, Venice 2018

• Involvement in concept development for Pavilion of Humanity (EXPO 2020, Dubai)
• Project involvement and collaboration with Louvre Abu Dhabi for Interactive Installations (with TCA, 2017–2018)
• Concept development for Traditional Weaponry Museum in Jazirat Al Hamra (Ministry of Infrastructure 
Development, 2016–2020)


The research focus in the Plastic Lab was on getting and sharing a holistic view onto global issues that relate to plastic and plastic recycling. As part of his work at the Plastic Lab Beck has received the following grants:
 First, a 10k $ Center Planning Grant in Fall 2019 to transfer the lab into a Sustainability Center of Excellence, and second, a 50k $ grant for the 1st Precious Plastic WANA Conference 2018. As part of his research, he lead a team of dedicated student research assistants and community members to work on answers, and develop solutions towards questions such as: Why plastic? How is it used in the market? What are the lifespans of the different types? What are processes of waste collection and processing? etc. To find answers to those questions Prof. Beck collaborated with partner institutions on a national and international level such as the following: 


• American University of Sharjah (UAE), College of Architecture and Design (CAAD), Prof. Zlatan Filipovic
• Beuth University of Applied Sciences (GER, Berlin), Prof. Dr.-Ing. Kristian Hildebrand

• CRVENA Association for Culture and Art, Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina
• Precious Plastic (Mattia Bernini, Delft, The Netherlands), and Precious Plastic Group Shanghai
• Zayed University (UAE), College of Arts and Creative Enterprises, Prof. Adina Hempel