The graduate of Tecnun, Álex Roquero, is in luck. He has recently been awarded in London in the 'Design Innovation in Plastics' competition. The brief for the competition was to design a product related to outdoor spaces in the home, enhancing the use of the same, as well as any task related to gardening. 

His proposal focuses on the new trend of building construction (vertically, not horizontally) reducing the amount of open space. "That is, there are fewer and fewer terraces, and balconies are getting smaller and smaller," notes the School's former student . For example, a new trend is a concept called "Juliet Balcony" where there is not even a platform, and it is directly the window and the railing.

His was an individual work in which nearly 300 applicants took part, and he was selected for the final phase from among six finalists. Once in the finals, the judges gave them a number of suggestions for improvement ahead of the selection final. "So, I spent about two weeks on improving the design, taking into account manufacturing methods, related products (IP), and sustainability. Finally, I also managed to produce a working prototype," explains Roquero.

This experience has served as a real-life learning process. In addition, as part of the award, he will enjoy a trip to Germany where he will visit Covestro, a leading company in the polymer sector; receive a course in plastic injection molding with RJG; and an internship at the PDD studio in London. "I can't complain," maintains the engineer, who after finishing the Degree of design Industrial at Tecnun, worked for two years at Bosch Rexroth in San Sebastian, designing and manufacturing hydraulic machines. "Until I realized that my passion is designing consumer products, not industrial machinery," he confesses.

"In Spain, the concept of subcontracting a study to carry out the design of a certain product of a company is still not well established. Normally the engineer, or the person in charge of a department, designs it internally. That's why I went to London, where there is a demand for this type of work subject ", he says before adding that, for the moment, he would like to work for one or two more years in the English capital to "learn and gain experience", and later on, "who knows if I'll return to Donostia and apply what I've learned".