Looking at the people who keep the wheels of commerce turning on the Island; features, profiles, achievements and stories with a human dimension. STUDENT FROM IOM TAKES 3RD PLACE IN NATIONAL DESIGN COMPETITION A university student who hails from Douglas, has clinched third place in the annual Design Innovation in Plastics (DIP) competition after creating a re-usable syringe system, which could result in a substantial reduction in plastic syringe wastage. FULL RESULTS First: Daniella Kaligorsky – 3rd year product design student, Technological University Dublin. Product name: Checkkit - A kit for raising breast cancer awareness by promoting self- examination. Second: Kai Wang – 4th year integrated product design student, Brunel University. Product: POTLUCK - A combined cooking and storage device that encourages and simplifies the production of stock cubes using avoidable food waste. T he result of the competition was announced at the final awards ceremony at Painters Hall, London. Fourth year Product Design student, Christopher Kay, who studies at De Montfort University, won praise for his product ‘Enviroject’, with the competition judges saying his system could be a “game changer” if it was able to be put into production. Enviroject provides a safe and sustainable method of administering injections. It is re-usable for up to 100 cycles and the syringe itself can also be recycled back into the manufacturing process. The kit comes with a steriliser which ensures bacterial safety of the syringe after every cycle. DIP is the longest running student design competition of its type – inviting university students to produce a new product made primarily of plastics, while giving due consideration to sustainability and recyclability. It is organised by the Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining and the Worshipful Company of Horners, and is industry headline sponsored by Covestro, a global polymers manufacturer. Third: Christopher Kay – 4th year product design student, De Montfort University. Product name: Enviroject – a re-usable syringe system, providing a safe and sustainable method of administering medications. 30 | This year DIP set the students the challenging brief of ‘Healthy body – healthy world’ inviting ideas for improving health and wellbeing, with a product which could demonstrate longevity and sustainability. Afterwards the judges highlighted the huge amount of work Christopher had put into his project, and his professional presentation. Technical engineer, Mike Stuart, formerly of Covestro, said: “If this project went into production it could be a real game changer when it comes to reducing plastic waste for single use syringes. The investment involved in getting it up and running along with any potential changes in systems to accommodate it would need to be overcome, and Chris acknowledges this.” Chairman of judges, Richard Brown, of RJG Technologies, added: “Chris gave due consideration on how the concept would fit into the ‘circular economy’ and had also considered alternative markets. It was well researched with a logical approach taken to tackle a current problem.” A delighted Christopher Kay said: “It means a great deal to me to have got this far in the competition and has been a fantastic experience! I have a keen interest in working within the medical design sector, which is why I aimed to develop a medical product during my final year of studies. I’m delighted that I’ve already secured a new role as a design engineer at Strix Technology, the world leader in kettle controls, and hopefully there will be more opportunities throughout my future career as a result of the recognition that the DIP award has given me.” Christopher was among five finalists, and an original field of 149 entries from all over the UK and Ireland. He will receive a cash prize and short work placement with one of the competition sponsors: Brightworks; Innovate Product Design; PDD and RJG Technologies. He was also given special recognition for his innovation by industry headline sponsor, Covestro, and will join the winner in a trip to Germany to visit them at their global headquarters. Christopher’s product was also shortlisted in the finals of the 2019 Royal Society of Arts student design awards – a global curriculum and competition for emerging designers which has been running since 1924.