IT IS THE longest-running student plastics design competition in Europe.
And, this year, three of its six finalists are Huddersfield University students.
Oliver Woodhouse, Mark Staweczny and Joshua Sheard have been selected for the annual Design Innovation in Plastics 2009 award, sponsored by international materials company Bayer MaterialScience.
All three of the second year product design students had to create something sustainable for mass plastic production.
One of judges, Stewart Potter from Bayer MaterialScience, said: “The three finalists from Huddersfield managed to interpret the brief very well.”
Woodhouse developed a ‘camping claw’ tent peg aimed at stopping the loss of thousands of metal tent pegs each year. Moulded in polycarbonate, the camping claw is simply pushed into wet, dry or frozen ground by foot.
Staweczny’s LifeGrip belt can be thrown more accurately and further than a traditional circular life buoy. It is designed to give the user a more secure grip and has handles to make pulling the victim out of the water easier.
Sheard produced a door handle that releases gel cleanser into the user’s palms as the door is opened or closed.The user then rubs their hands together to clean both hands and stop germs spreading from contaminated locations, such as toilets.
Finalists will present entries in person to the judges, with the winner announced on June 26 at a ceremony at the London office of the IOM3. First prize is £500 for the university, with the student receiving £1,000 and a placement at Bayer’s global HQ in Germany.
Huddersfield students have enjoyed recent success in the competition, with the 2005 winner and 2007 runner-up both coming from the university.
