The inventions of Bournemouth University (BU) students were put on display during a Festival in Dorset.
The Festival of Design & Engineering sees the final projects of BU design and engineering students displayed as they look to solve real world problems through innovation.
Over 100 students exhibited their work at this year’s Festival which saw designs from a range of subject areas on show to businesses, the public, school children and BU staff. Some of the designs included a mindfulness glass to help people with eating disorders, a prosthetic attachment for amputee golfers and a treatment for weever fish stings that eliminates the risk of scalding.
The Festival of Design & Engineering also featured a Business Breakfast event that gave business professionals from Dorset and across the country the chance to hear about some of BU’s ground-breaking research and network before touring the show and hearing from the students about their products.
Jane Warren, Manager of Dorset Engineering and Manufacturing Cluster spoke at the Business Breakfast and worked to bring businesses to the Festival to highlight the work of final year students. “The Cluster’s role has been to bring businesses in and flag up the amazing work that been done by the final year students and to help the people from the Engineering department build those really important links with business.” she said.
Jane continued “I’m really impressed by the quality of the presentation, finding out that the students make all of their own prototypes – which is such a vital part of the design process – that’s really impressive, and just the quality of the work.
“It’s important to create and maintain these links to ensure the university research is addressing real-life problems, helping to build a community, and helping to keep the talent within the area – there is obviously some amazing talent here and it’s about flagging up to students that there are opportunities here in engineering and manufacturing.
“Dorset has 2,100 businesses in the county employing 25,000 people and as a sector we are responsible for 25% of the apprenticeships so it’s really important that businesses are able to connect with what’s going on in the university.
“From our perspective, it’s really good to be able to show businesses the level of talent that there is here to tap into.”
Jasmine Minogue, a final year BA (Hons) Product Design student, created PULP to combat period poverty. PULP is a discreet device that enables women and girls in developing countries to produce their own sanitary pads out of natural and biodegradable materials – such as waste products like banana skins.
Jasmine said “My project focused on reducing the negative stigma of menstruation whilst enabling girls and women in developing countries to continue with their education.
“Safety and independence for those using the product was also vital. By creating an easy to use product that doesn’t require charities to make continual updates or changes it makes this solution sustainable.”
Zulfiqar Khan, Professor of Design, Engineering and Computing said “With every project at the Festival there is an application – some are working towards delivering the strategic areas of sustainability or low carbon technology, cost-saving, efficiency.”
“The projects are fantastic and then the students have the opportunity to talk to industry professionals and companies where they can then communicate their ideas and what they have delivered, which also gives them confidence to then go off and take on real-world challenges.
In terms of the students’ employability, these projects help them to shape their skills and their expertise such that when they go out into industry they will have enhanced abilities to take this holistic idea of designing and developing something to bring cost and efficiency savings and enhanced durability.”
For more information, visit the Festival of Design & Engineering webpage.