For the second consecutive year the Australian Institute of Packaging have partnered with the Cormack Innovation Awards to offer a $5,000 scholarship to a student participating in the Industrial design program.

The success of the inaugural scholarship program in 2009, which saw talented student Sascha Dal Santo of the University of New South Wales scoop the scholarship with her written essay, was a clear indication to the AIP that the Cormack Innovation program was a suitable partnership for their Certificate in Packaging course.

Renata Hidajat of the University of Technology, Sydney – winner of the 2009 Cormack Innovation Awards – shares her insights and experiences of the Cormack Innovation Award process and provides some helpful tips for this years students.

View of the Competition

Compared to other 3rd year competitions, the Cormack Innovation Awards are seen as a prestigious award among students. It’s an opportunity for recognition and exposure to industry.

The competition itself was well organised and offered a good balance between design and a more technical focus. The designs needed to be more functional rather than just something pretty.

The students were given a clear brief and good direction with briefing sessions and support. These sessions gave a clearer indication of expectations and exposed students to real manufacturing, sales and marketing.

Thoughts on Internship

The internship has given me much greater exposure to the process and resources behind designing. I have gained experience of the factory, sales and marketing and the Design Team. The experience is very hands on including work in the factory and with customers in the industry.

It’s an eye opening experience to behind the scenes of product design and how challenging it can be to introduce and develop an innovative product. A design needs to be efficient. You don’t realise the intricacies relating to a simple closure.