I was honoured to be back at my old haunt, the Product Design Engineering (PDE) studio of Glasgow School of Art - but this time instead of presenting my final year project I was on the other side... as part of a panel of judges.
The PDE course, which is a joint undergraduate Bachelors and Masters degree with the University of Glasgow, has long since produced amazing graduates who go on to do great things in varying careers, with many starting their own company often based around their final year project or working for international product design companies. It is a great course for harvesting creativity with practical real life solutions.
Not that I count myself as one of those amazing graduates (!) but looking back I can see how the transferrable skills I learnt during my five years on the course have been invaluable to my patent attorney role. It has enabled me to understand the design process that my clients have gone through to get the point that they come talk to us about IP, while our (constant!) presenting to peers and lecturers gave me confidence in speaking to clients and presenting at trade shows and networking events.
It was great to be back in that buzzing and energetic environment and see the new generation of cutting edge designers present their work. The work was varied in technology, customer need and outcome, with some brilliantly crafted working prototypes as well as beautifully presented boards and portfolios. There was a theme of sustainability running through a lot of the projects, and hopefully some of these will be taken on after graduation and become a reality.
Congratulations to the winner of the Autodesk product design industry award Ben Noar for his Aura smart device for your fridge that aims to reduce person food waste, and to two worthy runner ups Gabby Hussey and Chelsea Atkinson!
