Helena attends Innovate’11 18/10/2011

On 11 October Helena attended Innovate ’11  a one day conference and exhibition held at the Business Design Centre in London. Hosted by the Technology Strategy Board the event provided an opportunity for businesses, government institutions and academia to  meet with the aim of networking and presenting their technical innovations in a range of areas including Digital, Health & Wellbeing, Energy, High Value Manufacturing, Travel & Transport, Agri-Food and the  Built Environment. The conference hosted several discussions and talks about the role of design, innovation and manufacturing.  

Helena was representing the Design Council‘s  Keeping Connected design challenge organised in partnership with the Technology Strategy Board and STEMNET. The Keeping Connected project started in January 2011 and was aimed at designing a service to connect older and younger people, their community and the wider world. Twenty schools from the UK participated in the challenge. Helena worked as a design ambassador with children from Stoke Newington School in Hackney, along with their  Design and Technologyteacher and two local groups of older people. Her team was shortlisted together with four other projects and presented at the Design Museum in July this year. 

Helena’s team won the competition with their project called ‘Enrich’ and were awarded £5000. ‘Enrich’ is a club where older and younger people meet on school premises to take part in gardening, dancing and cooking activities. The prize money will be spent on a series of events that will be run in collaboration with a community centre in Gerards Cross – these events will be launched on 10 November 2011.