Digital event will inspire next generation

Exeter College is part of a collaborative group staging Connected Exeter - a digital design weekend - across the city on 18 and 19 October.

Working with the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, and the Royal Albert Memorial Museum (RAMM), Exeter, along with the Phoenix, the Met Office and the Fab Lab at Exeter Library, the college will stage a number of design-based challenges in its Centre for Creative Industries (CCI) building situated off Queen Street, across the weekend.

The event is open to the public and aimed at young people of secondary school age up to college age who have a passion for the arts, engineering, science, technology and design. Participants can book a space on one of 10 challenges that Exeter College will run across the weekend and join in for as long or as short a time as they wish. They can also move from one challenge to another and also join the numerous challenges run at the other four sites in the city.

"The aim of this design festival is to brings together people with all sorts of creative interests and to give everyone an opportunity to get involved, learn new techniques and hone their skills" said Nigel Watts, head of art and design at Exeter College. "All interests, ages and abilities are welcome. The challenges will be explained at the beginning and then all visitors can contribute their ideas and skills and either stick with their team or move on to another challenge."

The Exeter Connected event follows the huge success of the global SpaceApps Hackathon that the college participated in at the Met Office earlier this year, where they designed an interactive space suit. Their idea was so popular it won a global award, judged by NASA and the suit is now in production for the British Astronaut Tim Peaks. The suit will be on display over the weekend and visitors will be able to join in the challenge to develop it further.

The V&A involvement is part of their outreach programme encouraging young adults to engage with art, technology, design and science. It is thought to be the first digital design festival in Exeter and the V&A are already working on expanding the idea to other cities, with Connected Brighton already in discussion.

For more information please visit http://www.connectedexeter.uk