On 11^th November 2016, the British Council in Japan, Joyo Bank, a regional bank from Ibaraki Prefecture, and the City of Mito, Ibaraki Prefecture, jointly issued a press release about a project to link design students studying at UK higher education institutions with small and medium-sized companies from Ibaraki prefecture. This project, which is titled “UK Design for the Revitalisation of Ibaraki”, will shortly be launched by Joyo Bank with the support of the British Council in Japan and Mito City.

The project will invite students studying design at higher education institutions in the UK to participate in a competition in which students will be asked to design labels and packaging for local Japanese products, such as tea. The company producing the product will select the final design and the packaged product, which will include the winner’s signature and their institution logo, will be released in the local market from spring 2017. As a prize, the winner will be invited to visit Ibaraki for one week during summer 2017 to meet the company and visit local places to gain an understanding of Japanese culture and the market. The winner will be asked to promote Ibaraki and its tourist spots via social media after they return to the UK. As local media outlets are expected to feature the story, this is an excellent opportunity for both the student and the institution to raise their profile in Japan.

This project aims to help revitalise the local economy in Ibaraki. Joyo Bank is keen to work with UK design students as the UK is well known for its excellence in design. It is hoped that this unique competition and the innovative designs that emerge from it will help: a) raise recognition of the local products across Japan and boost sales and b) raise awareness amongst the local industry about the power and importance of design. UK design students can also benefit from the experience of working with businesses outside the UK particularly in terms of enhancing their capacity to work in an inter-cultural environment.

We are planning to announce details of the project and the guidelines for UK HEIs in mid-January 2017 through the SIEM site. We will take applications from relevant departments of UK HEIs, such as international offices or design schools. Upon submitting an application, we would like the relevant departments to promote the opportunity amongst their students and encourage them to participate in this competition. Students will be asked to submit the designs to Joyo Bank by mid-March 2017.

Timeline:

10^th January:                   Announcement of the project outlines and guidelines for UK institutions
By end January:               UK institutions to register their participation and promote the competition amongst students
February to Mid-March:  Students work on their design and submit
End March:                      Local company to select design(s)
April to May:                   Design to be applied to the products
June to July:                    Products to be released in the local market
August:                           Winners to be invited to visit Ibaraki