INTEC students design more than 120 products for the needs of the industrial sector
SANTO DOMINGO. - Students of the career of Industrial design of the Instituto Tecnológico de Santo Domingo (INTEC) have developed more than 120 products with manufacturing companies of the Dominican Republic, as part of an institutional initiative that the university deploys through its Engineering Area, since the year 2014.
The students of the subject Product Design IV have had the opportunity to seek solutions and develop viable product proposals for the local market together with companies such as Paló Creative Designs, Commercial Multitex, Smurfit Kappa, Dominican Rattan Furniture y rock, to name a few.
Since October 2021, the academic practice of the INTEC Industrial Design career has been integrated into the Program “Design with the Industry”, an initiative of INTEC, the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and MiPymes (MICM), la National Intellectual Property Office (Onapi) and National Association of Companies and Industries of Herrera (ANEIH), with the aim of improving the country's national and international innovation indicators.
The coordinator of the INTEC Industrial Design career, Aranzazu Toribio, explained that the MICM approached the university through its Vice Ministry of Industrial Development as a result of the INLocal exhibition, in which its students presented their designs at Ágora Mall.
“At that time, they carried out actions aimed at promoting the innovation of goods and services in local industries. We met on several occasions in order to discuss the initiative and how we carry it out, as well as identify ways of inter-institutional cooperation, regarding the National Industrialization Plan, which has as one of its axes the development of industrial capacities”, Toribio stated.
“Design with the Industry”, whose third call was presented by Vice President Raquel Peña, in a meeting at the National Palace, was born after the signing of an inter-institutional agreement and was created after having identified that local manufacturing needed support and help in matters of innovation, as well as developing quality human capital in the different subsectors of the manufacturing area.
At the event, the Vice President Rachel Peña indicated that the program “Design with the Industry” It allows combining education, innovation and technology to generate the personal and professional growth of the young people involved in the initiative. "The government tries to increase the levels of innovation and productivity, because we are very aware that we live in a knowledge society," she specified.
Likewise, the Minister of Industry, Commerce and MSMEs, Victor –Ito- Bisonó, He assured that it is a priority for the Government to increase productivity levels by integrating all sectors of society. “In an increasingly global and digital world, innovating is vital for the productive development of the country and that is why at MICM we are carrying out concrete actions in accordance with the 2030 National Development Strategy, which provides for prioritizing and encouraging research, development and innovation".
In fact, as a result of the agreement that allows INTEC Industrial Design and Engineering students to participate in the production processes of the industries for the execution of products through industrial designs, the Industrial Design students have presented the Inlocal exhibition, first in October 2021, in the Galería 360 shopping plaza and the second in April 2022, in Ágora Mall.
In the October 2021 edition, the students worked with 16 companies, and presented 20 products. In the April 2022 edition, we worked with 11 companies, 17 were the total number of products developed. The companies with which the INTEC students have worked belong to the wood, plastics, mechanical metal, textiles, ceramics sectors, among others, and have developed furniture products, containers, packaging, decorative and functional objects for the home, lighting, functional for companies, among others.
Inlocal Exhibition at the National Palace
Once the event was over, businessmen, officials and attendees were able to enjoy the "Inlocal" exhibition, developed by Industrial Design students from INTEC as part of the "Design with Industry" program.
The meeting was attended on behalf of the INTEC authorities by the Vice President for Administration and Finance, Alliet Ortega; the coordinator of the Industrial Design career, Aranzazu Toribio, and the director of Permanent Education, Carlos Reyes.