Bitter oranges and fans: the proposal of the students of the Degree in Product Design at UDIT arrives at MoMA in New York.

The team of students from UDIT's Degree in Product Design, made up of Pablo Pesqueira, Javier Villasevil, Marta Poy, Aaron Truzman, Carmen Carranza and Diego Rodríguez, has completed its participation in the final of the Biodesign Challenge (BDC) held on 12 and 13 June at the Parsons School of Design and the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York.

This team was selected to represent UDIT after winning the semi-final held on 26 May at the Innovation Hub of the Campus of Technology, Innovation and Applied Sciences. Their proposal is based on a deep-rooted environmental problem in the city of Seville: the massive waste of urban bitter oranges.

From this underused raw material, they developed a biodegradable polymer that they used in the manufacture of traditional fans, thus vindicating design as a tool for local, cultural and ecological regeneration.

A unique experience in the cradle of design

During their time in New York, the UDIT students had the opportunity to present their proposal in the Parsons auditorium, where they answered questions from the jury and shared space with teams from more than 30 countries.

Afterwards, they participated in the Gallery Show, an event in which each university had its own space to showcase their designs and which became an unbeatable opportunity to network and learn first-hand about emerging trends in the field of biodesign.

During the day on 13 June, held at MoMA, attendees had the opportunity to enjoy presentations by international experts and the announcement of the eight projects selected to compete for the Glass Microbe, the official award of the Biodesign Challenge.

Although the UDIT team was not one of the final winners, their project received very positive feedback from a jury that recognised their local approach and their ability to transform an urban waste into a cultural object of symbolic value.

In addition to a global competition, the Biodesign Challenge is a training programme that supports the teaching staff of the institutions that decide to join this initiative, with pedagogical resources, mentoring and access to experts.

In many cases, BDC members also commit to continue to support the most interesting projects from each edition, especially if they are developed into startups, or into works of art that can be exhibited in museums or galleries. So far, thealumniwho have taken part in this competition have raised more than 30 million dollars in investment for their projects and have managed to patent many of them.

UDIT's participation in the tenth edition of the Biodesign Challenge reinforces the university's commitment to innovation and sustainability, highlighting the transformative potential of design.