Teknek Sponsor World Class Product Design Event
12 May 2008
Teknek, the leading international engineering manufacturer based in Glasgow has joined forces with The Glasgow School of Art to be the principal sponsor of the world-class Product Design Engineering Degree Show 2008.
The Product Design Engineering (PDE) course is run jointly by The Glasgow School of Art and the University of Glasgow. A unique concept in the Higher Education sector worldwide, the PDE course applies a people-centric design engineering process with industrial focused teaching methods to equip students for the rigorous demands of industry.
PDE graduates excel in industry with talented design engineers taking up influential positions at market-leading companies such
as Apple, Dell, Philips, Nokia and Dyson. Champions of the course include captains of industry Sir James Dyson and Sir George Cox, former Chairman of the Design Council. Sir George Cox referred to PDE in his government commissioned ‘Review of Creativity in Business' stating that PDE's pioneering approach produces graduates equally comfortable with speaking the dual languages of design and engineering. As a further endorsement, the Institute of Mechanical Engineers believe that PDE is "bringing back the joy and creativity to engineering".
Teknek's managing director, Stephen Mitchell commented: "The world class achievements of this course are demonstrated by the range of awards won by graduates and their companies. Amongst others, graduates and students have scooped esteemed prizes at the Wall Street Journal Technology Awards, RSA awards and IF Design Awards. As a world leader in engineering solutions, Teknek is delighted to be sponsoring the Degree Show. The sheer quality of innovation from this Show further strengthens Glasgow's position as a centre of excellence for world-class product design."
The show also sees the inauguration of the Kennett Prize for Innovation in Product Design which will be presented to the student judged to have the most innovative product design in the show. The student will receive a cash prize of £2,500 plus a trophy. It is intended the Kennett Prize, named after the founder and executive chairman of Teknek Jonathan Kennett, will become an annual prize to inspire PDE students to apply their creative skills in industry.
The show is also being supported by Murgitroyd & Company, the Glasgow-headquartered International Patent and Trade Mark Attorneys. Keith Young, Murgitroy's Chief Executive said: "Glasgow School of Art is a prime launch pad for design engineering talent. We are delighted to have this opportunity to support the young inventors and innovators of tomorrow."
A fascinating insight into the innovations of the talented design engineers of the future, an invitation-only awards ceremony and viewing takes place at The Glasgow School of Art on Thursday 12 June. The show will then open to the general public from 14-21 June (times Saturdays 10am-5pm; Sunday 10am - 5pm; Monday to Thursday 10am - 9pm; Friday 10am - 7pm; last entry to each building is 30 minutes before closing.
A typical example of the type of project which PDE students produce is N.Capsulate from Andrew McCalister. N.Capsulate is a device which can be fitted to bomb-proof barriers to mitigate the extreme destruction caused by car bombs. It expands with the shock wave caused by the explosion, absorbing the energy from it, which would otherwise be passed on to personnel, civilians and structures. In addition, it has a one-way protection feature whereby it stops shrapnel in one direction but allows armed personnel to fire through it the opposite way. N.Capsulate has numerous global applications from homeland security and war zones to protecting sporting events such as the Olympic and Commonwealth Games.