Game-Changing Innovation from University Students Chosen for Global Graduate Showcase
There are 24 UK and Irish @GlobalGradShow entrants out ot the 100 submissions from students around the world….
An airbag belt that cushions falls for the elderly, a pillow that stops people using their smartphone in bed and a shopping device that provides live feedback on the users’ food choices are among the university innovations being displayed at the Global Grad Show – an virtual and interactive exhibition displaying the ideas of tomorrow.
UK entries include:
- An air purifier to combat pollution on the London Underground, Royal College of Art
- A wearable injury prevention device, Imperial College London
- A non-invasive blood glucose ‘earring’ that tests blood sugar through radio waves, University of Huddersfield
- A baby monitor that reduces the risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome via magnets attached to the child’s collar, Cardiff Metropolitan University
- Technology which uses electrostatics to capture tyre wear – the second largest microplastic pollutant, Royal College of Art & Imperial College London
- Turning tonnes of waste chicken feathers into edible protein, Central St Martins, London
The chosen projects have been organised around five key emerging trends that were identified from the 1,600 applications from 270 universities in 60 countries.
Tadeu Baldani Caravieri, Director of Global Grad Show, said: “The diversity of the community of young talented researchers we bring together at Global Grad Show has many facets: they span across six continents, institutions from Ivy League to regional colleges and disciplines from bioengineering through to architecture. They do have however, a reassuring common denominator: they investigate problems, social and environmental, that matter for everyone. This year with over 1,600 submitted student projects we have been able to map what are the most frequently occurring issues keeping these bright minds awake at night. That exercise resulted in the diagnosis of problems that are brewing at a global scale and affecting innumerous communities, which we are calling Trends. These global trends, five in total, have grouped the main areas of concerns and today we present 100 projects that are, in essence, alternatives and remedies put forward by our global community of graduates whose ambition is to create a future-ready world.”
The five trends are:
- Living with Illness & Disability
- Coping in a Complex World
- Saving and Protecting Vulnerable Lives
- Cleaning a Waste Filled Planet
- Sustaining the Urban Experience
Projects that provide solution to those trends include:
- A non-invasive blood glucose ‘earring’ that tests blood sugar through radiowaves, University of
- Huddersfield, England
- A fluorescent hat for commuting children walking in the dark, Zhejiang University, China
- An autonomous weeding robot for small-scale urban farmers, Lund University School of Industrial
- Design, Sweden
- Using Durian fruit as an alternative to Styrofoam, National University of Singapore, Singapore
- A temperature regulating curtain, University of Arts Berlin, Germany
- A device which replaces clinical sounds with colour during chemotherapy treatment, RMIT, Australia
- A CO2 eliminator using green bacterial technology, Unaula University, Colombia
- A firefighting light aircraft with a targeted foam firing bionic arm, Universidad Privada del Norte, Peru
- An airbag belt to cushion the elderly from falls, University of Limerick, Ireland
- Low cost shoes made from recycled bottle plastics for school-girls walking lengthy distances, Mackerere
- University, Uganda
- Biodegradable food containers made of date seeds to start an economic system for date farmers to generate income, Dubai Institute of Design and Innovation
- Innovation DIDI, UAE
The projects will be brought to life in an inaugural interactive digital exhibition on globalgradshow.com, giving a voice to the next generation of innovators and connecting the public and potential investors all over the world with ideas that have the potential to change lives. The virtual exhibition will showcase the graduates behind each one of ideas and will also see prototypes, films and original research material visually curated for online visitors to engage and interact with.
The programme, now in its sixth year, and held under the patronage of Her Highness Sheikha Latifa bint Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Chairperson of Dubai Culture & Arts Authority and member of Dubai Council, and in partnership with A.R.M Holding and Dubai Culture, saw entries rise by 30% and features ideas from leading institutions such as Imperial College and Harvard, alongside first-time representation from countries such as Indonesia, El Salvador and Oman.
A year-round activation, Global Grad Show entrepreneurship programme supports innovators to materialize their real-world impact. Through training, mentorship, connections with the industry and funding opportunities, it accelerates the process of bringing graduate projects to life. The focus is to develop business skills and offer structured startup-building route to participants. Last year, A.R.M. Holding pledged AED 10 million for a 10-year fund to help talents from Global Grad Show entrepreneurship programme to advance towards market launch, having already supported eight projects.
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