Win in China through innovation, design and awards
BIDA is very pleased to be partnering with John Mathers and the Design Intelligence Awards to promote the 2021 DIA awards in the UK - Deadline 9 July.
DIA Details: https://en.di-award.org/
Entry is free and with a total prize fund of £750k, this is an exceptional opportunity for businesses and designers in the UK to raise the profile of their work in Asian markets.
BIDA Board member Dr Stephen Green from Imperial College London is taking part in a webinar run by the China-Britain Business Council (CBBC) on Tuesday 15 June 13:00-14:00 UK time to discuss the Awards. Details from the CBBC below:
WEBINAR REGISTRATION link: https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_9qQj6xGaSUC2yWEJElhIiw
Win in China through innovation, design and awards
Hold the date - 15th June 1-2pm
China is a market demanding new innovative products and services at scale and ripe for development by fast growth UK enterprises. UK firms that use innovation and design to exploit gaps in the market can grow rapidly.
UK applicants are serial DIA winners - in 2019-20 UK businesses included Tampliner and Hero Arm who were awarded £140k and have gone from strength to strength, winning Fast Company, Time and Dyson innovation awards.
How do businesses use design as a strategic tool to crack the market? How do they market-test their proposition? And how do they get exposure? CBBC is partnering with China’s renowned Design Intelligence Awards awarding £750k to help businesses grow in China. Hear from winning entrepreneurs, design industry leaders and trade experts on their experience of how to win in China.
Register your interest and be one of the first 10 firms to be Nominated to have the advantage of skipping Round 1 judging and have an extended deadline.
The DIA UK team is very pleased to be able to advise applicants and is led by John Mathers, former Design Council CEO and Chair of the British Design Fund so if you’re interested in applying, please contact John at: john@britishdesignfund.co.uk
Deadline July 9th - apply today at: https://en.di-award.org/register.html
Agenda
13.00 – Introduction – Mark Hedley, Tech & Knowledge Economy Director, CBBC
13.05 – Design for China – John Mathers, Chair British Design Fund
13.15 – Entering China – Thang Vo Ta, CEO, Callaly
13.25 – Innovating for China – Dr Stephen Green, Head of Programme, Innovation Design Engineering, Dyson School of Design Engineering, Imperial College London
13.35 – Doing business in China - Mark Hedley, Tech & Knowledge Economy Director, CBBC
13.45 – Panel Discussion hosted by Mark Hedley and Q&A
13.55 – Winning a DIA award - John Mathers, Chair of DIA UK Judges
14.00 - Close
Speakers
Mark Hedley, Tech & Knowledge Economy Director, CBBC
Mark is CBBC’s Director for the Knowledge Economy sector, leading CBBC’s advisory practice for clients working across digital technology, innovation, and life sciences. He has spent over two decades living in and travelling to China, having previously worked in market entry consulting and business development roles helping Western tech clients to enter the China market. Mark’s day-to-day role involves mentoring early-stage tech businesses on their China market entry strategy, supporting corporate members, and leading on a number of flagship CBBC programmes, including the UK-China Tech Forum and UK-China Tech Accelerator. A fluent Mandarin speaker, Mark holds a Masters in Chinese Business from Sheffield University and MBA from Lancaster University.
John Mathers, Chair British Design Fund & Chair DIA UK Judges
John has been working for 40 years in the brand and design industry. He was CEO of the UK Design Council for five years from 2011-16. In 2017 he co-founded The British Design Fund, a venture capital fund supporting well-designed British start-ups. He’s a visiting professor at Tongji University, advises Innovate UK Healthy Ageing Challenge, Chairs the annual UK DRUM Design Awards and has co-founded the Innovate UK funded Design Age Accelerator and Healthy Ageing by Design.
Thang Vo Ta, CEO and Co-Founder, Callaly
Thang founded Callay in 2014, a new British femtech company disrupting the industry and cited by The Independent as one of the “period-positive start-ups revolutionising the multi-billion pound feminine care industry”. Named by Fast Company as one of the world's Most Innovative Companies, for Tampliner® named one of TIME's Best Inventions of the Year 2020. Thang studied at MIT and worked for Goldman Sachs for four years. He is a member of the Founders Pledge community: a group of entrepreneurs who have pledged to give a substantial part of future proceeds to charitable causes.
Dr Stephen Green, Principal Teaching Fellow, Imperial College London
Stephen is the Imperial Head of Programme for the joint RCA-Imperial Innovation Design Engineering (IDE) programme and Principal Teaching Fellow in the Dyson School of Design Engineering at Imperial College London with over 30 years’ experience in design consultancy and higher education. At the Dyson School he has had a strategic role in developing the Design Engineering subject area within one of the World’s leading science and technology institutions.