Now in its 95th year, the RSA Student Design Awards is a global curriculum and annual competition for higher education students and recent graduates. Each year the Awards challenge emerging designers to tackle a range of design briefs focused on pressing social, environmental and economic issues.
The goal is to empower a generation of savvy, employable designers who understand the potential of design to benefit society. This is encouraged through a competition that challenges students and recent graduates to think differently about design, by tackling briefs focused on real-world problems.
The ten briefs address important social, environmental and economic issues:
• The Circular Emergency
• Grand station designs
• Citizens as shapers
• Beyond the kitchen table
• Alone together
• Harvesting health
• Hidden figures
• Take leave
• Living and dying well
• Moving pictures
Submissions are accepted from both individuals and teams. Some projects may be more suited to teamwork than others. There is no set number of people that can be part of a team, but generally, team entries comprise 2 or 3 people.
The intellectual property rights (patents, registered designs, unregistered design right, copyright, etc.) of all designs submitted in the competition remain with the candidate.
There is an entry fee of 35 GBP (approx. 45 USD). Reduced entry fee of 25 GBP (approx. 32 USD) before February 13, 2019.
Eligibility
Open to students and new graduates worldwide. Candidates may be undergraduate or postgraduate engaged on courses at a college or university, or those who graduated in or after March 2018.
Prize
Winners of the RSA Student Design Awards are rewarded with cash prizes, paid industry placements and complementary RSA Fellowship to kick-start their careers.