Students at Kirklees College banded together to reach the final of a worldwide enterprise competition for colleges and universities – by creating an unusual product idea using rubber bands.
The team from Batley School of Art got through to the last four in the world in the DECA Idea Challenge 2017 alongside teams from the USA, Moldova and Saint Lucia.
Kirsty McEwen, of Rastrick, and George Dunn, from Lightcliffe, were joined by fellow art and design students Molly Cavell, of Pudsey, and Kirsty Brien, from Wakefield, on their project to create a camping chair and bed “combo” called CHED – with the rubber bands being stretched across three chairs to create a bed.
About 4,500 students at the college took part in the competition as part of the college’s Enterprise Week activities. The challenge asked participants to come up with a novel use for an every-day object – the humble rubber band.
Once they come up with the idea, participants had to record and submit a video of their plan.
George said: “It took a while to come up with the design, but we wanted to find something really useful.” Molly added: “We thought this was a great idea because it is really simple yet practical and something everyone can use.”
After submitting their design, the students had forgotten all about the competition – so they were surprised and delighted to discover they had got through to the final four. In the end, the tram fro the USA was selected as the winners.
Lydia Butterworth, commercial and enterprise manager at Kirklees College, said: “At Kirklees College, we try and place enterprise at the heart of everything we do, from being employer responsive, supporting local skills gaps to running professional business networking events.”
She said: “We are absolutely delighted that one of our teams has had global success with their enterprising idea and reached the final four worldwide. It’s a fantastic achievement.”
To watch the team’s submission, go to www.youtube.com/watch?v=cFVPGa3ClUM
