UAE students get chance of big break at Index 2008

Index will be hosting Al Habtoor Interiors' Young Designers Award which is themed on an hotel room with a particularly challenging design.

Sponsored and organised by Al Habtoor Interiors, a pioneer in interior design solutions, the award is aimed at encouraging creative talent within UAE universities.

It also provides students with an opportunity to showcase their designs, to exchange ideas with industry professionals and show an international market that good design is only limited by imagination.

This year participating universities include the American University Dubai, Zayed University, Ajman University of Science and Technology, American University of Sharjah and Al Ghurair University.

Three teams of three students each will represent each university, and the entries will be presented to a panel of independent, industry specialists who will judge the competition.

They will consider presentation, research, creativity, design development, green focus, implementation feasibility and working within a defined budget.

Al Habtoor Interiors' Young Designers Award is part of a Student Pavilion which has been a popular fixture at Index for the past six years.

The specially designed stand will provide a showcase for participating universities to promote themselves, featuring a mock up of the winning competition entry.

Al Habtoor Interiors have allocated Dhs30,000 in prize money and will also offer internships to the winning team.

Kim Willis, Index exhibition director, said:

"This competition and pavilion provide a shop window for the wealth of creative talent evident throughout the design schools in the UAE. It is the responsibility of everybody involved in the industry to encourage young home-grown talent by opening doors that may lead to that big break."

Lina Sadek, Corporate Affairs Manager of Al Habtoor Interiors, added: "We take our corporate social responsibility very seriously and enjoy helping young students showcase their talent."

As the region's premier interiors event, Index has built its reputation on opening avenues to new markets and providing forum for an ever-growing audience of architects, specifiers, designers and collectors from around the Gulf.

Nearly 1,700 companies from 56 countries took part in last year's Index, including 35 major country pavilions.

The event occupied all available space, covering 35,732 square metres, and visitor records tumbled when 32,755 buyers and specifiers attended.

According to organisers dmg World Media Dubai, the 2008 event will accommodate 2,000 exhibitors and attract in excess of 35,000 visitors