Design Innovation in Plastics Award
A product design competition for undergraduate students in the UK & Ireland
DIP 2025 Health & Wellbeing
Undergraduate UK students can participate in the Design Innovation in Plastics competition for a chance to win up to £1,000 and a placement. Entry is free and IP remains solely the student's.
Timeline
14 March 2025 Submission deadline
28 March 2025 Preliminary judging
14-16 April 2025 Sumitomo Demag
9 May 2025 Final Judging
20 June 2025 Award ceremony
DIP 2024 Results
Congratulations to Isabel Payne, a product design engineering student from Glasgow School of Art, who took the top prize with her innovative ‘SafiCase’ – a device for cleaning and steam sterilising re-usable menstrual cups, using minimal water.
Graham Lacy - PDD Innovation (placement sponsor); Jake Lee – 2nd; Isabel Payne – winner; Hugh Pizey - Glasgow School of Art tutor; Alastair Swanwick - Innovate Product Design (placement sponsor); Jem Mitchell, 3rd, is pictured further below.
Her success was part of an unprecedented clean sweep for Glasgow School of Art candidates, who filled the top three places, the second and third being taken by Jake Lee, for his cold-water body temperature sensor, SkinTemp; and Jem Mitchell with Sentree, a solar powered sonic deterrent that protects trees from overgrazing by animals.
Particular praise was also given to our highly commended finalists, Gargi Agrawalla (Loughborough University), Brandon Hopkins (London South Bank University) and Joe Shade (De Montfort University), who the judges said had helped make this such a high-quality final. The finalists were awarded their prizes by Dr Barry Maunders, Master of the Worshipful Company of Horners, at our ceremony at the Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining on Friday, July 5.
A Word About Plastic and Sustainability
DIP works in harmony with the British Plastics Federation which, via its member groups and expert committees, is championing several sustainability initiatives at different stages of the supply chain - including design - to achieve a circular plastics economy.
Sustainability is one of the key considerations applied by the DIP judges when critiquing the many designs submitted. Students entering the competition are asked to show evidence that a clear understanding of the principles of sustainability has been applied to their design. This is reinforced in every one of the briefs we produce each year.
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What is DIP?
Established in 1985, Design Innovation In Plastics is now the longest running student plastics design award in Europe. Students submit their entries digitally and finalists are invited to present their concepts to a panel of judges with presentation slides and models. All finalists win a cash prize, a short placement with a UK design company, and connections to esteemed members of the community. We encourage tutors and lecturers to incorporate our brief into their university’s coursework to facilitate student submissions. Design Innovation in Plastics is sponsored by the Worshipful Company of Horners, The Institute of Materials, Minerals & Mining (IOM3), and market leaders in the fields of design and innovation including Covestro.
Sponsors & Partners
Media Partners
