2016 dubai design week gathers student innovators at global grad show

‘lightbound’ by emilia tapprest of aalto university, finland

dubai design week: recurring for its second year, the ‘global grad show’ opens on october 24th to 29th, showcasing the innovative design work of numerous international students. as part of the 2016 dubai design week, the event presents 145 projects from 50 of the globe’s leading universities – a three-fold increase in participation over last year. the exhibition aims to show a response towards promoting the good for humanity, and ideas that create real, lasting impacts on our world.

‘devoted by sin bing wong of the hong kong polytechnic university

‘we are seeing the future now,’ says brendan mcgetrick, global grad show curator. ‘this year’s designs could be the solution to some of the pressing problems that the world is facing. the global grad show is providing the platform for graduate students to introduce their brilliant thought-provoking designs to a wider audience. we encourage leaders and decision-makers to take part and see the myriad of possibilities and new ways of thinking to transform lives.’

‘devoted’ is a breast-pumping device that offers a new way to pump milk in the workplace

located in the dubai design district (d3), the ‘global grad show’ exemplifies and supports the city’s vision of becoming an innovation hub for rest of the world. the student projects come from 50 different schools, based in 30 countries and across six continents. as well, for the first time, it will feature work from students attending universities in the MENASA region (the middle east, north africa and south asia area). in doing so, the event offers a fascinating selection of diverse designers, their inventions, and an insight into the future of design.

NEO² by michelle gerullis, julia regnath and li shao of the university of design schwäbisch gmünd, germany

mohammad saeed al shehhi, chief operating officer of d3 commented: ‘building on the success of last year’s global grad show, d3 is once again delighted to be welcoming such a wealth of rising international talent from wide-ranging regional schools, here in dubai. as we witness the growth of the design industry and talent in this region, it is important to have a global outlook so that our regional design students and business partners can seek inspiration from each other. initiatives such as the global grad show directly underpin d3’s objective of supporting education across the region, whilst inspiring a collaborative approach to creativity and fostering a genuine community spirit for the design sector.’

‘orchestrack’ by alexis caro of école de design nantes atlantique, france

as a collection of diverse designs, the work at the ‘global grad show’ 2016, focuses on ideas that better humanity. from projects that aid the lives of refugees to ones that improve medical treatments, the work is varied in its topics. as a result of this, the exhibition showcases what the future may look like in terms of medicine, cooking, energy usage, lighting and much more. to best present their inventions to visitors, many employ multiple forms of high-technology, none more so than the virtual reality suit of yukari konishi, nobuhisa hanamitsu, benjamin outram and kouta minamizawa from keio university, japan.

‘retrash’ by núria molina and anastasia melnikova of istituto europeo di design, italy

‘rather than sectioning projects off in school-specific zones, at global grad show the works are mixed together and organized according to what a project does, rather than what it is,‘ said brendan mcgetrick. ‘the exhibits in the ’empower’ section offer new ways to spark ideas and expand our abilities. the ‘connection’ section is concerned with encouraging exchange and building community. ‘sustain’ is a survey of innovative approaches to reducing waste and generating energy.’

‘oneware’ by loren lim tian hwee of national university of singapore

the ‘global grad show’ and its three sections, can be visited at building 6 of the dubai design district (d3), from october 24th to 29th. running in tangent with this, the city-wide 2016 dubai design week will be featuring over 100 different events and programs. make sure to follow designboom’s coverage of the week and its many talks, product presentations and activities.

‘micro wind turbine’ by nils fender of ÉCAL, switzerland
see the project featured here on designboom