Royal College of Art

Today we're announcing the shortlist for the RCA Grand Challenge 2024/25, the biggest single-institution postgraduate design project in the world!

The RCA Grand Challenge 2024/25 brings together students from across the School of Design’s programmes to address pressing issues affecting Greater London’s boroughs. Over 100 teams worked towards designing solutions that are not only robust to current risks but also have the ability to adapt, change and recover.

Here are some highlights from this year’s shortlisted teams:

1️⃣ Team 8 focussed on the London borough of Hackney using Hygroscopic ink technology they have developed a window treatment that changes colour in response to moisture levels highlighting the issue to passers by as an act of protest.

2️⃣ Team 76 present Resilience in Blues, a project reconnecting young audiences with Ealing’s electronic Blues culture through public installations and an online music platform.

3️⃣ Team 66 tackle the ecological challenge of fragmented green space in Kensington and Chelsea through the design of a network of hanging gardens co-created with the community and allow pollinators to move more freely between spaces.

4️⃣ Team 9 focussed on tackling food waste in Islington. Responding to the inequities evident in the economically diverse area they have developed a system that not only reduces waste through the redistribution of surplus food but celebrates cultural diversity through ingredients overlooked in Western cooking.

5️⃣ Team 77 tackles the air pollution found in the London borough neighbouring Heathrow airport of Hounslow. They present The Moss Air Filtration system, a system 3.8 times more effective than trees at removing the pollutants (UFP’s) that are released into the environment, from aircraft engines.

Discover the full shortlist 👉 https://bit.ly/4iEnCWA

"I’m a petrolhead at heart - and have been for even longer than I’ve been a designer."

Hugo Eccles (MA Industrial Design, 1995) is the Founder of UNTLD MOTO based in California, a company that delivers transformational strategy, design and production for the automotive industry. They partner with brands including Ducati, Triumph Motorcycles, Yamaha Motor, Zero Motorcycles and Harley-Davidson

As he explains "EVs and related technologies are catalysing disruption and creating a need for innovation. It’s an opportunity to rethink personal transport as a whole."

By applying his 31 years of experience in design his company is driving what's next – find out how in our interview 👇

https://www.rca.ac.uk/news-and-events/news/hugo-eccles-on-industrial-design-and-reimagining-personal-transport

🌊 S.O.S. (Save Our Seas) from our MA Fashion student Ruwanthi Gajadeera and marine biologist, Dr Asha de Vos (Founder and Executive Director of Oceanswell), developed through the European Marine Board IVZW Artist in Residency, delves into the aftermath of the X-Press Pearl shipping disaster, showcasing its profound impact on Sri Lankan marine life.

By bringing together design and science perspectives, they aim to use the exhibition to highlight the often-unseen consequences of global trade – the impact of shipping, a necessary but environmentally costly aspect of our interconnected world, on the delicate ecosystems of our oceans. They also bring together strands of work that bring hope of an ocean recovery.

Their pilot exhibition in Sri Lanka recently was attended by the British High Commissioner to Sri Lanka and the Chairman of the Graduate Fashion Foundation.

Find out more 👉 https://www.marineboard.eu/ruwanthi-gajadeera

🏗️ "The built environment can either facilitate or impede safe and inclusive experiences for Q***r individuals, particularly those who are Black and POC."

Our MA Architecture student, Robin Swartz tells RIBA how architecture can create more inclusive and equitable spaces this LGBT+ History Month.

Find out more 👇

Designing Justice: Rethinking the status quo of violence maintained by public infrastructure towards Q***r Black and POC individuals Robin Swartz explores the divide between public and private spaces, where home as a safe haven still fails to protect LGBT+ individuals from intersectional threats.

✨ Two RCA 2024 graduates are heading to Nigeria this spring for the second year of artist residencies by RCA BLK in partnership with Yinka Shonibare Foundation and in collaboration with Gas Foundation in Nigeria.

This year’s residents are:

🎨 Gaia Ozwyn achieved an MA Painting, supported by the Sir Frank Bowling Scholarship. Her Caribbean-British identity deeply informs her work, prompting a nuanced exploration of belonging and 'otherness.' Ozwyn dedicated several years to serving as a doctor in the NHS before pursuing her degree at the RCA.

📸 Aisha Seriki holds both a MA Photography and MFA Arts & Humanities from the RCA. She is a Nigerian, London-based multimedia artist specialising in fine art photography and sculpture. Her work delves into the intricate relationship between historical narratives and contemporary realities, utilising the past as a method to comprehend and communicate present-day existence.

"What drew me to the RCA was that I was noticing a lot of questions coming to light in my work that I didn’t have time to engage with in a deeper, more meaningful way."

Shelby Guergis (MA Visual Communication, 2019) explains why good design can take time in our interview. As a multidisciplinary art director and designer, Shelby has worked with clients including The Ordinary and Toronto International Film Festival – and is currently a Design Lead at IDEO.

Read our interview 👇

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👏👏 Congratulations to our 2020 MA Textiles graduate, Marina Belintani on winning the Science and Sustainability Award for Brazil in the Study UK - British Council Alumni Awards 2025!

The Science and Sustainability Award honours alumni of a UK university who has truly excelled in their careers, making a significant impact in their field and beyond. Since graduating Marina has co-founded MABE Bio, a biotech solutions that combines technology and nature to create new materials from plants by investigating the potential of Brazilian biodiversity.

Find out more 👉 mabebio.com

📣 The RCA Research Biennale 2025 exhibition continues and is open to the public at our Battersea campus from Monday 24 to Thursday 27 February from 10.30am to 6.30pm in the Hangar – and a 3 day Symposium takes place from Tuesday 25 to Thursday 27 February in the Rausing Research & Innovation Building.

This biannual event is dedicated to showcasing PhD research at the Royal College of Art, fostering interdisciplinary collaboration and supporting the next generation of scholars.

Are you interested in research across art, humanities, design and architecture? Find out more 👇

https://www.rca.ac.uk/news-and-events/events/rca-research-biennale-2025/

👋 Meet the RCA at British Council Pop Up Study UK 2025 in Kuala Lumpur!

Join us in Kuala Lumpur for an immersive art & design experience from 21-23 Feb and explore the incredible work of our RCA alumni! 🎥 From VR 360 films to student projects pushing creative boundaries—don't miss out!

🚀 Special Event:
📍 Sunway Pyramid Mall Oasis Concourse LG1
📅 23 Feb | 3-4 PM
🎤 GREAT Lecture Series & Workshop by Professor Graeme Brooker (Head of MA Interior Design at the RCA)

🔹 Open to all art & design enthusiasts!

🔗 Register now: https://lnkd.in/ePdJPRqm

For a third year, we’re proud to be offering the LoveFrom, Scholarship for UK MA Design Products students from underrepresented minority groups.

Created by the LoveFrom, collective and its founder and RCA Chancellor, Sir Jony Ive, the LoveFrom, Scholarship provides up to two students a year with financial support.

The scholarship aims to make design education more accessible to all, creating a field enriched with diverse perspectives that drive innovation forward.

We spoke to Libyan Designer, Monder Haraga about his journey, the impact of the Scholarship on his practice, and how he hopes to shape more accessible and meaningful interactions through designs focusing on disability.

👉 Read the interview with Monder: bit.ly/4k3vKS3

An exhibition opening next week (20 February) at White Conduit Projects will celebrate fifty years of Royal College of Art alumni!

Lions and Unicorns will run from 20 February to 3 March showing a broad range of artistic expression from RCA alumni across the past fifty years. The exhibition demonstrates strong professional and personal connections and celebrates a shared arts education heritage fostering creative development.

Including RCA alumni Alice Browne | Ashima Pargal | Adalberto Lonardi | Anne Course | Anne Howeson | Abi Freckleton | Anna Frijstein | Bruce Ingman | Cathy Gale Clare Buckle | Chloe Cheese | Carolyn Gowdy | Dan Williams | David Philips | Darrel Rees | Dan Fern | Dan Knight | FUEL | Grenville Horner Geoffrey Grandfield | Gary Clarke | Inga Middleton | Jane Ward | Jake Clark | Jason Ford | Jack Hardiker-Bresson | Keith Sargent | Lol Sargent Malcolm Goldie | Meara Withe | Michael Winstone | Michael Garner | Mick Manning | Muhil Venkatesh | Noriko Okaku | Paul Plowman | Paul Westcombe | Quentin Blake | Robert Mills | Rob Ryan | Richard Mcvetis Shahwali Shayan | Shika Haku | Simon Larbalestier | Tansy Spinks | Tania Willis | Tao Xie | Yumi Katayama | Yuki Myake

The exhibition is curated by Lol Sargent.

Find out more 👉 https://bit.ly/3EEXfRI

🚀 Last year some of our graduates spoke about how studying at the Royal College of Art launched their careers...

Janice Li, curator at the Wellcome Trust and RCA graduate, described her starting point when it came to curating The Cult of Beauty exhibition Wellcome Collection in London.

Janice studied MA History of Design, a programme taught in partnership with the Victoria and Albert Museum. “The training and exposure I got during my time at the RCA enabled me to have bold ideas, and also gave me the skills to carry the project" Janice explains. "There was a lot about thinking about material and design beyond disciplines, working with scientists and historians and artists and designers."

Read Janice's story ➡️ bit.ly/4aWUOpU

This article was originally published by The Guardian as part of the Royal College of Art x Guardian Labs campaign.

🚀 Last year some of our graduates spoke about how studying at the Royal College of Art launched their careers...

When Adrian Westaway and Clara Gaggero Westaway arrived on the first day of their industrial design engineering course (now MA/MSc Innovation Des), they saw nothing but an empty room. Their professor told them they had £200 to spend, and that over the next few weeks they’d be building the desks that they’d be working at throughout their time at the college.

“It was really putting you in at the deep end, but in a playful way,” Clara says. “There was a feeling of magic and experimentation.”

This feeling of adventure continued for the rest of the course and into their careers as founders of the design studio Special Projects. “All the doors were open at the RCA,” says Adrian. “You could just wander into glassblowing and then walk up to fashion and pick up some rivets or something. Everyone was there to help you.”

Read their story ➡️ bit.ly/4aWUOpU

This article was originally published by The Guardian as part of the Royal College of Art x Guardian Labs campaign.