A student from De Montfort University has won top prize in DIP 2025 with a simple but brilliant device which could save lives.
DIP
Harry Wragg was awarded a trophy and £1,000 cash for winning Design Innovation in Plastics 2025, the longest running plastics design competition of its kind for university undergraduates in Europe, supported by The Worshipful Company of Horners, the Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining (IOM3) and headline sponsored by Covestro.
This year’s contestants were asked to design a product for health and wellbeing to support the self-care agenda. Harry, a third-year product design student, has developed a new device to aid people in performing cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). CPR+Aid gives audible feedback immediately after pressure is applied, to guide people through the vital life-saving skill, ensuring they are using the right amount of pressure.
CPR+Aid is created using high-density polyethylene (HDPE) for easy recyclability, strength, flexibility and toughness. It can be recycled many times before it loses its desired properties.
The delighted winner said, “My research had shown a lack of first aid training and lack of defibrillator availability, so I wanted to find something that would give people the confidence to help save a life. I’ve proved to myself that I’m capable of producing a professional design that can change lives and have an impact on society. This competition has opened a door into a public sector of product design, demonstrating the possibilities and links to future opportunities.”
Harry presented three different sizes of device, all colour-coded to identify the specific individuals it should be used on. The simple but brilliant nature of CPR+Aid, which works without the need for electronics, makes it a low-cost solution that could potentially form part of a first aid kit.
Chairman of judges, Richard Brown, said: “We were very impressed with the simplicity of the product, the thought which had been given to material selection and how it would be manufactured, including being upscaled to meet demand. We believe it is a product that challenges the current CPR approach and save lives.”
Commenting on this year’s finalists, he added: “The standard was so high that there were very fine margins between the final positions, and we would suggest that a number of products are good enough to be commercialised.”
In addition to his cash prize, Harry wins a placement with a DIP sponsor, a year’s membership to IOM3 and an invitation to the Worshipful Company of Horners’ annual banquet.
The judges awarded second place to Krzysztof Boroniec, a product design student from Technological University Dublin, for his product Nibbliee, an ingenious chewing device, which helps exercise chewing and jaw muscles and translates into a signal, enabling activity in digital games. It was created using ethylene-vinyl acetate (EVA) for the biting tray and polyethylene terephthalate glycol (PETG) for a structural component, utilising both flexibility of EVA and durability of PETG, both also being biocompatible and recyclable. Kris wins £750 and a placement with a DIP sponsor.
In third place is Abbie Williams, Nottingham Trent University, with FlexiKnee Pro, a knee strengthening brace which uses resistance bands to help strengthen the joint and offset osteoarthritis. The design is injection moulded using recycled thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) to lower the environmental impact, with polypropylene clips for low cost and efficient manufacturing. Abbie wins £500 and a placement with a DIP sponsor.
Highly commended awards (cash prizes of £250 each) go to:
- Romaine Crawford, Loughborough University, with Serenity a support device to help people relax and improve their mental health. It uses aromatherapy and light therapy to change an individual’s mind, mood and energy. Polypropylene (PP), PET and TPR were used in the creation of the product.
- Henry Follett, Brunel University, with CrosStick, which works as a normal walking stick, but when the user needs to stand up, it will expand and fold out to give two points of contact with the ground, offering more stability when standing. The main body of the product is made from carbon fibre-reinforced CFRP, while contact points use polyether ether ketone (PEEK) with a TPU overlay.
- Michael MH Leung, Brunel University, with UE:1 Seat, an ergonomic rocking seat which serves as both a support system and a muscle activator, helping to ease movement and enhance comfort. It is designed to help people rehabilitating from back pain. Polypropylene is used in its construction.