With the aim of developing innovative products and fostering the link with education, Hydro Argentina presented two competitions to students at two of the country's major universities.
Hydro Argentina presented this year's launch of its new design competitions together with the universities FADU and UADE. The challenge was to design a “siren accessory” for ambulances, fire brigades or rescue units for the students of the Industrial Design course at UADE and the design of aluminium garden furniture for the students of the Bianchi - Industrial Design course at FADU, both under the direction of Professor Stehle.
The work was carried out in teams of three people who, with innovation, cooperation and creativity, presented modern and ingenious proposals adapted to the slogan in a period of approximately 60 to 70 days. In the case of UADE, through practical work classes, LED barriers were developed for security forces, fire brigade and/or ambulance vehicles, based on the design of extruded aluminium profiles. This was a great challenge as it was a very specific subject and technology. Callisti Joaquín, Gutierrez Manuela and Loredo Gonzalo were the three students who made up the winning team.
“Hydro's agreement with UADE has allowed us to link Industrial Design students with real problems, to bring industry closer to the university, to generate a very important strategic alliance that allows, in this case, students to work on a real, concrete issue, with requirements proposed jointly by the company and the faculty,” said Stehle.
Under a similar methodology, classes were held at FADU, where students presented various proposals analysed and evaluated by Hydro. The awarded students were Fernandez, Richer & Lanusse who presented the “Rue Armchair”, a modern proposal that responded to the challenge of developing Garden furniture.
“In a country as unpredictable as ours, where long-term planning is counted in months, thinking about projects that cross that time span implies a blind bet, or, perhaps, an unconscious act of faith. There is much of that in the link that Hydro and our chair have maintained for 15 years, collaborating to position industrial design as a central factor for competitiveness and innovation in Argentinean SMEs,” Stehle commented on the link built with Hydro over the years.
“Actions like this are the ones that demand an extra commitment from the students and at the same time generate a particular enthusiasm in them, given that the view of their actions is not only in charge of the teachers of the course, but they also have the opinions of the actors of the industry, where every student of industrial design is going to develop in the future”, he added.
From Hydro, Gonzalo Farias, business development manager of the market, highlights: “Since 2009, Hydro has maintained a strong commitment to collaboration between universities and students of industrial design, also adding customers to bring them closer to the real needs of the industry“.“
“Our purpose is not only limited to offering the opportunity to create innovative products, using the tools that companies can provide in education, but we also aspire to contribute to the development of the future designers of our country in a responsible, innovative and integrated way” concludes Victoria Wasserman, Commercial Manager of Hydro Argentina.
About Hydro Argentina
Hydro is the only company with a complete value chain in the global aluminium sector, with activities in forty countries around the world. Combining local expertise, global reach and unrivalled R&D capabilities, our 35,000 employees create innovative aluminium solutions across the entire value chain worldwide. The purpose is to create a more viable society by developing natural resources into products and solutions in an innovative and efficient way. It is present in a wide range of market segments in aluminium, energy, metal recycling, renewable energies and batteries, offering a unique wealth of knowledge and competence. Hydro Extrusion Argentina is the first aluminium plant in the country to be certified according to the ASI Performance Standard, which aims to ensure that the principles of sustainability and human rights are increasingly integrated into supply chains. In addition, it holds the certifications: ISO 9001; 14001 and 45001, and Qualicoat. It currently operates one of the most technically advanced extrusion presses in Latin America.
