RSA points students in social direction

A biodegradable bamboo water bottle, designed by Tirza Abb at the University of West England, won the Waitrose Internship in the Packaging award category. The bottle breaks down naturally when its life has come to an end.

Postage stamp images of unusually shaped natural items, such as a cuboid tomato, were created by Lucy Hibbard of Falmouth College of Arts to raise awareness of genetic modification issues. She won the Royal Mail Travel Award.

In the Less Crime category, Andrew Pickard and Daryll Digpal, of Sheffield Hallam University, took a PDD Internship for their work on a safe environment Accident & Emergency ward.

In Interactive Media, the University of Hertfordshire’s Gautama Payment won the BBC Broadcast Internship for 1UK, a service that allows users to interact with politicians via interactive television.

The Re-Innovation category challenged students to explore rituals of ‘public bathing’. One of the winners was Esmé Macleod of Glasgow School of Art, whose conceptual installations enable people to ‘spontaneously bathe’ in urban settings.

Medical Products winner Katie Buchan designed the After Dinner Mint, a piece of gum with dental hygiene properties that sits on a toothpick.

Winners in the RSA’s Fashion and Fashion Fabrics included Katherine Rose and Kirsty Reilly respectively. Furnishing Textiles winners included Ahreum Han for a ‘comfort of leaves’ design.