News and Events

BU students get creative with Dyson

26 January 2009

BU students received a masterclass in creativity and enterprise, courtesy of a visit from the global brand leader, Dyson.

Representatives from the James Dyson Foundation (JDF), Dyson’s educational charity, ran a workshop for BU’s Design and Engineering students to test their skills of innovation, problem-solving and teamwork.

The students were divided into groups and presented with a design brief for a particular market. They were allowed two hours to brainstorm a relevant idea (powered by air) for their target customer, design a prototype, develop a name and concept, and pitch it to a panel of judges.

Designs ranged from a stretcher, wallpaper stripper, flare for mountaineering and baby seat.

Sam Hunt and Juliet Luff, BSc Product Design students, attended the workshop. Sam said: “It’s an inspirational experience for students like us, who are in the first year of a BU degree, to meet people from Dyson who are preparing us for our design future.”

Juliet added: “We’ve learnt so many skills from the workshop, such as teamwork, project management, communication and modeling techniques. It’s also helped me to think beyond the course about what I want to do when I graduate.”

The JDF is a charitable trust which aims to inspire young people and to help fulfill their potential to become designers. Helen Cole, Manager of the JDF said: “The Foundation is set up to support design engineering education. We pass on our industry expertise to both students and academics in the UK and internationally.

“We’re delighted to be at BU to share the Dyson philosophy with the talent of the future and are excited by their enthusiasm for design.”

In a separate initiative presented at the workshop, BU design students were invited to enter the James Dyson Award 2009. Run in 21 countries, the award carries a prize of £10,000 for the winning student and a further £10,000 for their university department.