Design Innovation in Plastics: final six students present their concepts to the judges

 

After a tense but fascinating morning in London on May 8, the Design Innovation in Plastics (DIP) judging panel had high praise for the standards set by this year’s finalists.

All six finalists brought prototypes of their products to the final judging session and afterwards, chairman of judges, Richard Brown, said they were the strongest he had seen in the many years he had been judging the competition.

This year’s competition asked students to come up with a brand new game, made primarily from plastics, which can be played indoors or outdoors, be suitable for any specified age range, and be either for learning or activity, or good old-fashioned fun.

Richard Brown said: “We saw some highly innovative games, with impressive creativity and technical skill, and above all what stood out was their playability.  They offered engaging and intuitive gameplay experiences and the range of concepts and ideas was impressive, spanning strategic challenges to games designed with learning and skill-building in mind.”

DIP is the longest running plastics design competition of its kind for university undergraduates in the UK and Ireland.  Supported by the Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining (IOM3), and the Worshipful Company of Horners, it is industry headline sponsored by Covestro, a global supplier of premium polymers.

The results will be announced at the DIP award ceremony on Friday, June 12, at IOM3’s headquarters in London.  Students are competing for a top prize of £1,000.  There are supporting cash prizes for all finalists, and work placements with leading design and industry sponsors, who include Brightworks, Innovate Design, and PDD.

This year’s finalists and products:

  • Maya Pai – Aston University – Honeycomb Havoc, a fast-paced strategy board game for people of all ages, designed to build predictive skills
  • Daniel Brown – Brunel University -  Mad Dash Escalation, a tabletop board game involving forward thinking and strategy, involving two or four players.
  • Isaac Faruque – Brunel University - Cross Connect, a unique two-player strategy path game with wide age range appeal.
  • Yushu Diane Li – Coventry University – Munchie Monster, a physical learning game designed for children aged 4-6 to educate them about sugar awareness
  • Joanne Chartouni – Nottingham Trent University – Steady Stacks, an indoor or outdoor game tailored to children with ADHD to encourage social interaction and mental stimulation
  • Aidan Jones – Nottingham Trent University – Lollipop Lane, an indoor or outdoor board game which teaches children road safety rules.

Notes to editors

  1. Established in 1985, Design Innovation in Plastics is the longest running student plastics design award in Europe. For more information visit www.designinnovationplastics.org  
  2. The Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining (IOM3) is a major UK engineering institution and is the professional body for the advancement of materials, minerals and mining to governments, industry, academia, the public and the professions. For more information visit www.iom3.org
  1. The Worshipful Company of Horners is one of the oldest livery

companies in the City of London and was formed to regulate the horn-working trade. In 1943 it adopted its modern equivalent, the plastics industry. For more information visit www.horners.org.uk

Headline industry sponsor – Covestro

About Covestro: 

Covestro is one of the world’s leading manufacturers of high-quality polymer materials and their components. With its innovative products, processes and methods, the company helps enhance sustainability and the quality of life in many areas. Covestro supplies customers around the world in key industries such as mobility, building and living, as well as the electrical and electronics sector. In addition, polymers from Covestro are also used in sectors such as sports and leisure, telecommunications and health, as well as in the chemical industry itself. 

The company is geared completely to the circular economy. In addition, Covestro aims to achieve climate neutrality for its Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions by 2035, and the Group’s Scope 3 emissions are also set to be climate neutral by 2050. Covestro generated sales of EUR 12.9 billion in fiscal year 2025. At the end of 2025, the company had 46 production sites worldwide and employed approximately 17,600 people (calculated as full-time equivalents). 

Other competition sponsors:

  • Brightworks: an award-winning UK product design and development consultancy dedicated to helping other companies develop the best products for their customers, their markets and their brands
  • FANUC UK: a global pioneer in in factory automation and technology leader in computer numeric control machining, robotics and ROBOMACHINE machine tools.
  • Innovate Product Design: specialises in helping individuals to protect, develop and commercialise their new product ideas and inventions
  • PDD: provides integrated design and innovation skills, working with organisations worldwide to develop novel products, services and business processes that drive revenues and create competitive advantage
  • Sierra 57 Consult a leading accredited training provider to the UK plastics industry
  • Media partners: British Plastics and Rubber, Materials World, Mould Technology, PlastikCity