KSUM Announces Social Design Challenge for Kochi Design Week

KOCHI:
As part of the third edition of Kochi Design Week (KDW), Kerala Startup Mission (KSUM) will conduct a competition of ideas leading to path-breaking solutions to social and real life problems like efficient disposal of domestic wastes, fighting street dog menace, and tackling malnutrition among school students.

KDW has put forward seven challenges for the Social Design Challenge, which is being introduced to bring forward innovations that would make the life of the general society easier.
Design Week will be held at Bolgatty Island, Kochi on December 16th and 17th. Those interested can participate in the challenge through the website https://bit.ly/SDC_kdw. Last date to apply is December 14.

The first challenge is usable smart waste bins which should be designed to be more functional, attractive and easy to us for segregating and disposing different types of waste.

The second challenge is to improve the preparation of school lunch to overcome malnutrition issues, provide nutritional foods, bring equality irrespective of caste, class, or gender, and attract underprivileged kids to join the school.

The third is bus shelter design which can be used in the city’s future infrastructure. The competition is open to all architects, designers, engineers, and students who are interested in designing a new usable bus shelter. The winning design will be selected based on its feasibility, functionality, and aesthetic appeal.

Cow Shelter Redesign Challenge is open to any individual, team, or organisation. The competition is to find a design that will improve the conditions for cows and the overall functionality of the shelter.

Another challenge is converting village libraries into activity centres by exploring new ways to engage the local community and attract more youth and public to the libraries. The aim of the challenge is to bridge the gap between the villagers and their access to knowledge. The design solution should be focused on the needs of the local community and should be cost-effective. It should also be sustainable and easily replicable across different regions of the state.

Street Woofers Challenge is to come up with ideas to combat the street dog menace found in different parts of the city, while Design for Accessibility challenge is to design more accessible living places that can be utilized by every kind of person with ease.

KDW is the first event of its kind that brings together architects, interior designers, decision-makers and builders. An exclusive Design Island for KDW has been earmarked to make it a high-profile international event that ensures three-month-long pre-and post-campaigns and over 70 activations.
KDW has also partnered with national and international industry bodies like World Design Organisation (WDO), World Design Council (WDC), IxDA (Interaction Design Association)and national bodies like IIA (Indian Institute of Architects), IIID (Institute of Indian Interior Designers), and TiE (The Indus Entrepreneurs).

This year’s edition includes various social impact challenges, which require to be addressed at the earliest. These challenges are to be held in collaboration with Kochi Corporation.

KSUM is the nodal agency of the Kerala government for entrepreneurship development and incubation activities in the state.