25 Middle East Universities Pledge Support for PANDAS

Third Packaging and Design Awards promises to be 'best ever'

Dubai 8 February: The third packaging and design awards for students, dubbed PANDAS, is slated to be the most popular to date with pledges of entries from 26 universities from around the Middle East. Organised by leading trade fairs, Gulf Pack and Gulf Print, the PANDAS aim to showcase the emerging creative talent from the Arab world's universities and colleges. This year's event will be presented during the Gulf Pack and Gulf Print exhibitions, set for Dubai Airport Expo on 2 - 5 April.

For the first time, PANDAS sees participation from universities in Jordan, Syria, Tunisia, Palestine, as well as the Gulf States and the UAE. The event aims to build a valuable bridge between the academic community and various design industries by involving students from across the region.

Universities from the UAE taking part in the PANDAS include Abu Dhabi Men's College and Abu Dhabi Women's College, Dubai Women's College, Zayed University, American University in Dubai, Sharjah Women's College and Ras Al Khaimah Women's College.

Students have been tasked to address a wide range of design challenges, covering everything from fragrance bottles and soft drinks containers, to a route map for a metro network and a poster for a cultural event. Categories were drawn up in consultation with universities and the event's sponsors to ensure that they represented relevant, commonplace needs that the students will confront when they eventually enter the workplace.

The PANDAS will culminate in an award ceremony taking place on the third day of Gulf Pack and Gulf Print, on 4 April. The day will also feature lectures from visiting design experts covering both graphics, calligraphy and packaging disciplines. An exhibition of entries will be displayed at the show with students attending the award presentation.

Judging will take place in advance under the scrutiny of experts from the printing and packaging sponsors such as Ajmal, Crown, HP, Layout Middle East, Motivate Publishing and Al Nisr Media. The judging panel will be chaired by an international design expert, Professor Maureen Wayman, Pro-Vice Chancellor of the Faculty of Art and Design at Manchester Metropolitan University in the UK.

The other packaging design awards include a Bulk Packaging category in which they design a Ramadan Gift box and dates packaging or design for a soft drinks container including the brand, designing a label and overall presentation for an energy drink, juice or other beverage presented in either a bottle or can.

Summary of Catagories & Sponsors