Global Grad Show 2019 Dubai Youth Design Show Seeks Solutions For A Better World

Global Grad Show, global gathering of young artists and designers, will return to Dubai this November (12-16) with the aim of creating projects which will positively impact the planet in partnership with Investment Corporation of Dubai. The event will be the world’s largest and most diverse gathering of universities and graduates working on social impact innovation.

For this year’s event more than 150 graduates from 43 countries are expected to travel to Dubai for the event. Curatorial themes will explore the spheres where innovation can create a positive impact, under the categories of The Human, The Home, The Community, The City and The Planet. In an expanded exhibition space, this year’s edition will house the largest gathering of universities to-date, following a record number of applications. Global Grad Show will feature 150 projects from a range of backgrounds, showcasing innovations from universities in emerging markets, including Chile, Uganda, Egypt, Pakistan and Thailand, next to the work of students from global institutions such as Harvard, Stanford and Imperial College. From the UAE, leading regional institutions such as Zayed University and NYU Abu Dhabi will present advanced solutions for problems ranging from aging populations to food security.

HE Mohammed I. Al Shaibani, Executive Director and CEO of Investment Corporation of Dubai commented: “For the past year, the Investment Corporation of Dubai has supported Global Grad Show in growing the reach, diversity and latitude of its programme. More young innovators across the world have now the opportunity to showcase and develop solutions for the society and environment” and he added “the renewed partnership is a ratification of Dubai’s commitment to build a better and sustainable future for all, leveraging the city’s position as a global innovation and entrepreneurship hub. We cannot wait for the world to see what this year’s show will bring.”

The programme also includes an “Innovating for Social Impact” conference, as well as an Entrepreneurship Programme for participating students. The show will be held as part of Dubai Design Week and will be free for members of the public to attend.

Bringing a fresh look to the event is the show’s curator, Eleanor Watson, who joined the team this year having previously worked for the London Design Museum.

“Global Grad Show is a coming together of the brightest young minds in the design industry, showcasing projects from over 100 schools this year. The curatorial approach of this year aims to show the connections between different spheres of human existence; as visitors walk through the exhibition, they will experience projects related to the human first, moving on to the home and community and finally the city, and planet. Our hope is that it will inspire others to think critically about how they live, while inspiring all of us to act consciously,” Watson said, speaking about the event.

From the UAE, leading regional institutions such as Zayed University and NYU Abu Dhabi will present advanced solutions for problems ranging from aging populations to food security.

Meanwhile entries from around the world include a thermally regulating cocoon, designed for premature babies born in low-income areas or developing countries, from a group of graduates from Nottingham Trent University, UK and an all-in-one container for communities with low resources, that produces energy from solar panels, and panels that condense humidity for air into water, from graduates at Politecnico Di Torino and College des Ingenieurs in Italy.

Global Grad Show will present a conference for industry professionals and academics, promoting knowledge exchange between institutions, titled the “Innovating for Social Impact” on Monday, 11 November.  The conference will explore how universities can be catalysts for sustainable development across the world. Drawing from the experience of professors, graduates, entrepreneurs and stakeholders, it will shed light on the learnings from initiatives that use sustainable innovation in the fields of technology, architecture and design. The conference will be curated by Community Jameel.

A new initiative in 2019 is an Entrepreneurship Programme, which supports graduate projects through their next steps, up to market launch. The first phase of the programme is an online training, which covers the fundamentals of business-thinking and setting up a social startup. Next, up to 20 projects will be selected to attend a boot camp in Dubai, to fine-tune their startup concepts and pitching skills.

In the final stage, participants will be introduced to accelerators and UAE-based stakeholders from the entrepreneurship field, to explore collaboration opportunities. The goal of the programme is to offer Global Grad Show projects the opportunity to be further developed while attracting young innovation talent around the world to Dubai’s entrepreneurship ecosystem.