Cormack awards innovation

Cormack Packaging's annual Innovation Awards of 2005 are under way. The competition gives third year industrial design students from University of Technology Sydney and New South Wales University an opportunity to design an innovative closure suitable for the food and beverage industry.

The Innovation Awards create the opportunity for fresh minds to be applied to real situations, and in the process, display their creativity and practical knowledge. The awards are designed to give students hands-on experience in all facets of the product design and commercialisation process.

The students are given a strict brief by Cormack Packaging, as they would be in a commercial situation, and this brief must be reflected in their designs.

During the course of the competition, design students are provided with ample opportunity to gain face-to-face feedback from expert Cormack personnel, and to interact on the factory floor with the operational personnel who would manufacture their designs. This gives them a great practical understanding of the theory they have been exposed to during their studies.

The grand prize for the winner of the awards is $1000 and employment as a contractor with Cormack Packaging. Second and third prize winners may be offered ad hoc projects on a commercial basis in recognition of their skills, and to build their practical experience, should the opportunity arise.