The lucky finalists include:

‘Precision D Shin Guard’, Jaipreet Bahra, Aston University

An innovative soccer shin guard incorporating smart polymer material

‘Smokefree Linx’, Bradley Coulson, Northumbria University
A bracelet to aid smoking cessation

‘flow•R•spiral’, Helena From, London South Bank University
A shower head based on a ball and spiral mechanism designed to reduce water consumption by more than half. 
 

‘Pincer’, Matthew Ince, University of Huddersfield
A pincer-shaped aid for safely lifting and carrying heavy building blocks on construction sites.

‘Stackable Composter’, James Shutt, Northumbria University
A garden composter that speeds up the composting process, allows easy access to the mature compost and is impenetrable to nesting rodents.

‘SafetyNet Trawling System’, Dan Watson, Royal College of Art
A redesigned trawl net which offers an affordable way to improve the sustainability and lower the environmental impact of demersal (bottom) trawler fishing.

Established in 1985, Design Innovation in Plastics 2010 is the longest running student plastics design award in Europe. It is also supported by the Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining (IOM³) and the Worshipful Company of Horners, and is now run as an annual competition.

Aimed at undergraduate and postgraduate engineering and product design students from universities and colleges throughout the UK, this year’s competition was titled ‘Refreshing Design: A Novel Solution to an Existing Problem’. Students were encouraged to design a product suitable for mass production in plastics that clearly demonstrates creativity and value for money in a refreshing way.

A total of 268 students from 24 universities initially registered an interest in the competition with 72 actually submitting an entry. Following the first round of judging, the panel of judges whittled these down to the six finalists.

Stewart Potter from Bayer MaterialScience, and one of the judges, comments: “The quality of entries this year has been very good. Despite some students not including full materials selection process and costings, they have been varied and innovative.

“The students managed to interpret the brief well and we look forward to hearing their presentations and finding out more about their designs at the final judging day. We fully support any initiatives which allow students to think more creatively about using our materials in design applications.”

The six finalists, will next present their entries in person to the judging panel on 1 June, with the overall winner being announced at an awards ceremony held at the IOM³’s headquarters in London on 25 June.

First prize consists of £1,000 for the student plus a placement at Bayer MaterialScience’s global headquarters in Germany.

Second prize is £500 for the student and a placement with DuPoint in Geneva.

Third prize is £250 plus a placement with PDD, a leading design and innovation consultancy based in London.

Contact:
Rachel Owen, Phone: 01635 563 410, Fax: 01635 563 513
E-mail: rachel.owen.ro@bayer.co.uk

Andrea Postles, Phone: 01635 563 031, Fax: 01635 563 513
E-mail: andrea.postles.ap@bayer.co.uk

Note to Editors

Bayer: Science For A Better Life

Bayer is a global enterprise with core competencies in the fields of health care, nutrition and high-tech materials. The company’s products and services are designed to benefit people and improve their quality of life. At the same time Bayer creates value through innovation, growth and high earning power. The Group is committed to the principles of sustainable development and to its role as a socially and ethically responsible corporate citizen. Economy, ecology and social responsibility are corporate policy objectives of equal rank. In fiscal 2009, Bayer employed 108,400 people and had sales of €31.2 billion. Capital expenditures amounted to €1.7 billion, R&D expenses to €2.7 billion. For more information, go to www.bayer.com.

About Bayer MaterialScience:
With 2008 sales of EUR 9.7 billion, Bayer MaterialScience is among the world’s largest polymer companies. Business activities are focused on the manufacture of high-tech polymer materials and the development of innovative solutions for products used in many areas of daily life. The main segments served are the automotive, electrical and electronics, construction and sports and leisure industries. Bayer MaterialScience has 30 production sites around the globe and employed approximately 15,100 people at the end of 2008. Bayer MaterialScience is a Bayer Group company.

For more information visit www.bayermaterialscience.com or www.bayer.co.uk

The Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining (IOM3) was created from the merger of The Institute of Materials (IOM) and The Institution of Mining and Metallurgy (IMM), and has been joined by the Institute of Packaging. The IOM3 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

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

Forward-Looking Statements
This release may contain forward-looking statements based on current assumptions and forecasts made by Bayer Group or subgroup management. Various known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors could lead to material differences between the actual future results, financial situation, development or performance of the company and the estimates given here. These factors include those discussed in Bayer’s public reports which are available on the Bayer website at www.bayer.com. The company assumes no liability whatsoever to update these forward-looking statements or to conform them to future events or developments.