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'Grace' device created by Peter

20 Sep 2017

Design school graduates achieve success at the 2017 James Dyson Awards

Comp A Tent project by alumni Comp-A-Tent, created by graduate James Molkenthin

Two graduates from Loughborough Design School have been named finalists in the UK James Dyson Awards.

The awards challenged entrants with creating a product that challenged the norm and showcased fantastic design skills whilst also considering the environment.

The James Dyson Awards is an international competition aimed at University students and recent graduates from 23 countries who specialise in industrial design, engineering or product design.

Originally set up by James Dyson and now ran by the James Dyson Foundation charity; the award supports some of the best upcoming talent across the UK.

James Molkenthin graduated from Loughborough University in 2014 after studying Product Design and entered the competition with Comp-A-Tent; a tent that biodegrades into compost after 120 days.

It was influenced by the rise in popularity of music festivals across Europe where more than 750,000 tents are abandoned each year - usually ending up in landfill.

Comp-A-Tent aims to reduce clear-up times at festivals and improve the customer experience whilst helping the environment as well. The product has already been tested at well-known festivals including Bestival and Glastonbury.

Next year, Molkenthin is due to release Comp-A-Tent 2.0, a new and improved version of the original product.

‘Grace’ is an innovative device created by Peter Astbury, which was developed as part of his final year project on the BA Industrial Design & Technology course.

The product has been designed to help over ten million women in the UK who experience hot flushes, often as a result of going through the menopause. With this equalling nearly one in three women, ‘Grace’ could prove to be the answer for a significant number of people experiencing these symptoms.

The device works by users wearing it on their wrist both day and night. It is then able to track and cool down the hot flushes that women may experience.

More information on the James Dyson Award and finalists can be found here.