BE OPEN and SBID Announce Designed for Business Competition Category Finalists

SBID and BE OPEN created the competition in a bid to showcase emerging talent in each industry, to promote equal opportunities and to nurture relationships between students and the working world. Both the teams were delighted with the enthusiastic response to the competition from both students and creative course leaders at leading universities.

The awards presentation will take place at the House of Commons on Thursday 29th November, where category winners will be awarded with £1,000. The overall winner will be awarded with a substantial prize of £30,000, providing the winning student with the tools to pay off their debt, establish a business or create their idea for a commercial venture.

Members of the judging panel remarked that they were impressed by the quality, innovation, social conscience and focus on sustainability present throughout the entries. The panel includes key representatives from companies including Sebastian Conran Associates, Amazon UK, Christie's Education, John Lewis, Amara, HG Designworks and VitrA, as well as creative educators from a number of the UK's leading universities.

SBID founder, Dr Vanessa Brady OBE, says "We are delighted to announce the Designed for Business finalists. We were delighted to receive such a high volume of impressive entries, all of which aim to change traditional ways of thinking through design with innovation and social conscience at their heart. We believe that the competition will provide a life changing opportunity for the winning student and hope to encourage current students to develop a business mind throughout their creative education, in order to become the pioneers of the future."

Elena Baturina, Founder of BE OPEN Foundation confirmed: "I am thoroughly impressed by the calibre of entries and the thinking behind each of the finalists' works. The lense of the future generation looks bright and we can see how well they have considered their brief to find solutions that are not only pleasing to the eye, but also take on board values such as sustainability and the environment. BE OPEN is delighted to be involved in celebrating and supporting the next generation of designers."