UMEA Institute of Design student wins BRP's 2018 design competition.
Rovaniemi, Finland, March 28, 2018 – As the third edition of BRPs Design Competition comes to an end, Sophie Tilleman from the Umeå Institute of Design impressed representatives of BRP and members of the Scandinavian design community and won first prize – a four-month internship with BRP.
A total of 23 students from two institutions, Lapland University and Umeå Institute of Design showcased their talents throughout a two-month endeavour to conceptualize a personal electric mobility vehicle that would be marketed to the millennial generation, in 2025. Furthermore, the concept had to be adapted to the environment in Nordic countries, aesthetically pleasing, lightweight and easy to carry.
"This competition is a rich learning experience for the next generation of industrial designers and for BRP. We are pleased with the success of our third edition of this competition and with the creative and clever designs that were presented to us, says Denys Lapointe.
From the given guidelines, many beautifully crafted designs were presented. But only one could come out on top. After long discussions between the jury, they announced Sophie Tilleman, a Dutch student at the Umeå Institute of Design as the winner of the competition and of a four-month internship at the Laurent Beaudoin Centre of Design & Innovation in Valcourt, Canada, this upcoming summer.
During the internship, Sophie will have the opportunity to get hands-on experience at BRP, alongside some of the best designers in the industry. Notably, with designers who work on the renowned Lynx and Ski-Doo snowmobiles, manufactured in Rovaniemi, Finland.
Other remarkable students included the Finnish second- and third-place winners Antti Vahtola, from Umeå Institute of Design and Ville Määttänen from Lapland University. The Finnish, Petri Salo, Italian/German, Philip Beller and Chinese, Wenting Xu also received honourable mentions for their amazing designs.
The jury consisted of Denys Lapointe, Senior Vice-President, Design, Innovation and Corporate Image, Jacques Mayrand, Director, Design & Innovation, Thomas Uhr, General Manager BRP-Rotax, Vice-President Powertrain BRP and R&D/Operations Lynx Risto Perttula, Director of Engineering for Lynx, from BRP, as well as Tapani Hyvönen, CEO and Founder of Hyvonen Design Oy and Päivi Tahkokallio, CEO, Tahkokallio Design+.
Posters of the proposed designs will be displayed in the main hall of Lapland University in Rovaniemi, until April 13.