Jaguar time capsule competition launched
06 September 2016
A Scottish school pupil will win a life-changing week’s work experience with Jaguar as part of a national design competition launched today (Tuesday 6 September) by V&A Museum of Design Dundee.
Students studying the Scottish Qualifications Authority’s Higher Design and Manufacture course this year are being challenged to design a time capsule to celebrate the construction of V&A Dundee.
One winning design will be selected by an expert panel chaired by Jaguar’s Director of Design, Ian Callum. The winning pupil will then work in Jaguar’s design studio in Coventry where their design will be developed and built.
The finished time capsule will be installed in front of the new V&A Dundee museum ahead of its opening in 2018. The time capsule will be filled with items created by Scottish primary school pupils and opened in 50 years’ time.
V&A Dundee is working in partnership with SQA, with the design challenge forming an accredited module that counts towards the students’ Design and Manufacture Higher qualification.
The project, which will engage young people right across Scotland, has been made possible by the support of players of People’s Postcode Lottery.
Fiona Hyslop, Cabinet Secretary for Culture, Tourism and External Affairs, said: “The V&A Dundee Time Capsule is an incredibly exciting and dynamic project, and I encourage school pupils across Scotland, who are studying for this qualification, to embrace the challenge.
“Scotland is home to thousands of exceptionally talented and creative youngsters and the launch of this project is very fitting in this current Year of Innovation, Architecture and Design and as we count down to the Year of Young People in 2018.
“The Scottish Government is working hard to promote creative partnerships between educators and local businesses to provide valuable, inspiring experiences and better prepare our young people to achieve a productive and fulfilling working life.”
Ian Callum was born in Dumfries and studied at Gray's School of Art in Aberdeen and the Glasgow School of Art before studying a postgraduate degree at the Royal College of Art in London.
Ian is highly decorated as a designer and received the Royal Designer for Industry Award from the RSA. He also has five honorary degrees, including from Abertay University in Dundee, one of V&A Dundee’s founding partners.
Philip Long, Director of V&A Dundee, said: “Scottish designers are leading internationally significant companies all around the world, and Ian Callum is a superb example of a designer who has transformed the creative and commercial success of an iconic business like Jaguar.
“Ian’s passion for the importance of design, and the example of his own career, is very inspiring for young people. The opportunity for one Scottish school pupil to spend a week working at Jaguar with its designers and engineers is a genuinely life-changing opportunity.
“Design is a skill open to everyone, whatever their age or background. It is about looking for creative solutions to any problem, and engaging with how lives can be improved through good design.”
V&A Dundee has been delivering community engagement and education projects since 2014, including the Schools Design Challenge which saw over 1,000 pupils from Angus and Dundee designing ways to improve their schools.
Alastair MacGregor, Head of Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths at SQA, said: “This is a unique competition for young designers across Scotland to pitch their ideas to the V&A Dundee and literally make history.
“Their capsule designs need to last for 50 years, so this is a significant challenge. With each and every one having their designs recognised as part of their final portfolio, there’s already a compelling reason for Higher Design and Manufacture candidates to take part. But the added incentive of winning a placement with Jaguar to oversee the fabrication and construction of the final design makes this a fantastic opportunity.”
The Scottish pupils studying the Higher Design and Manufacture course have received a design brief for the time capsule, with all of their work for the competition counting as credit towards their Higher qualification.
The brief specifies the design and engineering requirements for the time capsule, including being weatherproof for 50 years, guaranteeing consistent environment conditions for the objects placed inside the capsule, occupying a space of no more than 1.5 cubic metres, and being a creative design inspired by Jaguar and the V&A Dundee building.
The final time capsule will be unveiled in 2018, ahead of V&A Dundee opening to the public later that same year.
