global grad show exhibits largest student gathering at dubai design week 2017

returning for a third year as part of the dubai design week 2017, the global grad show welcomes innovative inventions from graduates of the world’s leading design and technology universities. likened as the ‘oscars’ for graduate design, 200 forward-thinking projects from 90 establishments and 40 different countries will be on exhibition from november 13th to 18th, 2017.

‘moove’ by yasunori morinaga of ECAL, switzerland
(main image: ‘ivy’ and ‘vitis’ by marion aeby of ECAL, switzerland)

following the ‘good for humanity’ focus of the 2016 edition, the global grad show 2017 and its exhibited projects envision themes of empowerment, connection and sustainability. each design showcases ideas on how to improve our future world by next generation creatives. with over 470 global entries, submissions were chosen by author, designer and the show’s curator, brendan mcgetrick. his selections exemplify an emphasis on four categories that he feels are imperative to design: innovation, equality, universal design and impact.

the ‘food chain’ by evan huggins of pratt institute, USA

‘we organize global grad show to be a celebration of beautiful ideas,‘ explains show curator brendan mcgetrick. ‘it is free to attend and features projects that are designed to directly benefit social and environmental causes. by presenting a cross section of design programs from around the world, we try to demonstrate how the brightest young minds are designing the future. the variety of programs offers a unique view to the ways in which designers in different places, with different budgets, cultural contexts, and tools develop solutions to the problems and opportunities of our time.‘

‘smile’ mirror by berk ilhan of the school of visual arts, USA

as an international platform that aims to engage, inspire and enable emerging creatives, the global grad show is a highlight event of the dubai design week. furthermore, the exhibition showcases the high quality and versatility of the numerous creatives emerging from the MENASA region (midde east, north africa and south asia area), with student projects from schools like king abdullah university of science and technology, german university in cairo, and srishti institute of art, design and technology. the show will be held at dubai design district, which will also host exhibitions, such as ‘abwab’ and ‘iconic city’, as well as commissioned installations, pop-ups and special talks.

‘shelter bench’ by alia mazrooei of zayed university, united arab emirates

stay tuned to designboom to follow our coverage of the dubai design week 2017 and the global grad show, which runs from 13th to 18th november, 2017.

‘solar lamp for rural india’ by nishith parikh of the indian institute of technology bombay, india