Designers from across Devon attended a launch reception at the University of Plymouth. Photograph courtesey of David Hotchkiss, ICCI, University of Plymouth.

A ground breaking new scheme was devised by the South West Design Forum and funded by Universities South West, the National Council for Graduate Entrepreneurship and the Design Council. Working with three of the region’s Universities at Bath Spa, Plymouth and the Arts University College Bournemouth, Design Buddy will give selected students an industry mentor to help them understand the industry, develop their portfolios and hone their skills.

Designers based in the county have volunteered to take part in the pilot scheme, and they will mentor University of Plymouth students during their final year. For industry it will allow the transfer of cutting edge research, knowledge and new ideas. For Designers it’s a way of inspiring the next generation and ensuring that graduates have the right skills and understanding to enter industry.

One of the Designers who attended the launch event was Ben Reynhart from Mutant Labs, a new company started up by students just 12 months ago which is based in the Formation Zone at the University of Plymouth. Ben said “We are really excited to be a part of the Design Buddies initiative. Not only is it a great opportunity for us to find emerging talent, but it also gives us a chance to give something back and help develop the next generation of designers.”

The Design Buddy mentoring sessions will begin in the Autumn this year and will prepare students to enter employment in 2011. In the pilot scheme it is expected that 15 students from the University of Plymouth will benefit from this ground-breaking Design industry initiative.

David Hotchkiss from the University of Plymouth said “Design Buddy offers Universities access to the industry and brings students and staff into direct contact with design practitioners. The initiative helps us to ensure that our students have the best skills for and understanding of the industry so that they are ready for employment, and it encourages the industry to take advantage of the huge talent resource within the University.”

The Buddy project is funded by the European Regional Development Fund and South West RDA through the Universities South West run Knowledge Escalator project, with additional resource from the National Council for Graduate Entrepreneurship through it’s support to the Universities South West Creative Industry University Enterprise Network (UEN). It is the first scheme to be undertaken by the emerging Creative Industries UEN which has been established in the UK to support collaborations between HEIs and Business that create a more entrepreneurial graduate talent pool contributing to future economic recovery and growth.

Robin Bower, Business Relations Manager for Universities South West said: “This Flagship project creates a support framework to facilitate closer cooperation and understanding between business and HE, tapping into a rich pool of knowledge, skills and enterprise to improve the international competitiveness of both. It will nurture the creative talent and capabilities of graduates, raise expectations and ambitions through partnership, and encourage and support young entrepreneurs to set up new businesses”.