Students to start the clock on Tour De France countdown

Product Design students at the University of Leeds will be part of a team that help to design and develop a countdown clock for the 2014 Tour De France Grande Départ in Leeds.

The Grand Départ, the showpiece of the Tour, will take place in Leeds in July 2014 and a commission to design the clock has been launched in partnership with Leeds City Council, Trinity Leeds and the University of Leeds. The competition is open to anyone who wishes to enter including practicing product designers, makers, architects, engineers and artists.

Product Design students will then assist with technical plans and build of the chosen design, which will be placed at the Trinity Leeds shopping centre to mark the start of the 100 days Yorkshire Festival leading to events in July. Students are also being encouraged to enter the competition and submit their own designs, with entries being judged on creativity and innovation, functionality, cost and content.

Dan Trowsdale, Senior Teaching Fellow in the School of Mechanical Engineering, who will be a judge on the panel of the commission said: “We’re really excited about this commission. The Tour de France in Leeds is a once in a lifetime event and for our engineering and product design students to be able to play a part in that is a fantastic opportunity, and a great way to celebrate the city’s young talent at the same time.”

This is not the first time that Product Design students have been involved in creating a countdown clock for a sporting event. In 2012, students designed a clock for the 2012 Olympics games, which is still on show in the University’s Student Union and Edge Sports Centre.

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