Cardiff Metropolitan University’s design and innovation research institution, PDR, is celebrating a landmark achievement, having won two prestigious accolades at the 2025 iF Design Awards – one of the most internationally recognised honours in the design world.

This year’s winners are Tidal – Personal Prosthetic Design Service in the service design category, and Me. – Personalised Monitoring Device in the product concept category.

Tidal represents a collaborative project with Swansea Bay University Health Board, focused on transforming how assistive technology is delivered. The service places users at the heart of the design process, supporting device co-creation alongside healthcare professionals to improve user satisfaction. By involving both the end-user and healthcare professionals in device co-creation, Tidal enhances satisfaction and reduces premature abandonment of prosthetics – an issue affecting thousands of patients globally.

Me. is a pioneering personalised monitoring system designed to support women experiencing menopausal symptoms. Through real-time hormonal monitoring, the device enables users to better understand and manage their health. This targeted approach not only improves self-care but also informs more accurate treatment decisions, addressing a critical gap in female healthcare.

Jarred Evans, Director at PDR, shared his excitement at adding another two iF Design Awards to the institute’s impressive roster of awards: “I’m absolutely buzzing that PDR has bagged another two iF Awards! It’s always an honour, but this year feels extra special – one of the awards shines a light on much-needed innovation in overlooked areas of female health. Plus, we finally landed our first iF Design Award in the service design category for Tidal, which spun out of our researcrh and some solid teamwork with our NHS partners. Not to brag, but 90 plus major design awards now for what is effectively a small but highly talented and professional team – we are doing something right!”

The iF Design Awards continue to be one of the most sought-after recognitions in the field, with thousands of entries from around the globe judged by an international panel of independent experts. The accolades reinforce PDR’s status as a global leader in applied design research, having proved itself as the country’s best and consistently named among the top 25 design studios globally since its founding in 1994.

European cities are not prepared to effectively address climate change risks, according to a new study which found that nearly 70% of their climate adaptation plans contain significant inconsistencies.

The research, published in the journal Nature Climate Change, identifies an ‘adaptation gap’ which suggests that European cities are struggling to turn climate planning into meaningful action.

A team of international experts, including Associate Professor Peter Eckersley from Nottingham Business School, part of Nottingham Trent University, analysed 167 local climate adaptation plans from the 27 EU member states plus the UK to see how well they addressed five key areas.

These included how well the plans matched local climate risks with their goals, whether the risks facing different sectors were addressed with the right actions, and how much they considered the needs of vulnerable groups. The study also explored whether these groups were included in monitoring and evaluation, and if they had a say in the planning process.

While half of the plans (52%) fully align environmental risks with corresponding actions, the remaining 48% identify risks but do not follow up with respective measures.

Findings also show that 49% of sector-specific measures, particularly greening and water-related measures, are implemented without any prior risk evaluation of the local context.

Just 1% effectively engaged vulnerable communities, such as the elderly, low-income, and ethnic minorities – signalling a widespread failure to integrate social equity into climate strategies.

Overlooking vulnerable groups was most notable among newer plans from Eastern European cities, whereas older plans in Northern Europe and the UK demonstrated weak alignment between climate risks and goals.

Associate Professor and lead author, Diana Reckien, University of Twente, said: “Cities often tick the boxes for having adaptation plans, but when you look closely, many plans are misaligned or incomplete, especially when it comes to protecting vulnerable populations and goals. This lack of consistency not only limits adaptation effectiveness but increases the risk of maladaptation, where actions may unintentionally worsen vulnerabilities or waste resources.”

Dr Peter Eckersley, Associate Professor in Public Policy and Management at Nottingham Business School – a triple crown accredited business school and United Nations Principles of Responsible Management Education (PRME) Champion – co-authored the paper.

He said: “Europe is warming twice as fast as the rest of the world, and 75% of the continent’s population live in cities where they are facing mounting climate risks such as flooding and wildfires.

“Having a plan is not enough, it must go beyond paperwork. Without coherence, inclusion, and evidence-based strategies, the ‘adaptation gap’ will widen, because cities’ intentions won’t translate into impact and our most vulnerable communities will be left behind.

“We urge policymakers to improve the consistency of adaptation plans by making sure that risk assessments guide all planned actions, clearly addressing social vulnerabilities, and setting up open and transparent processes for participation and monitoring.”

This research is part of the EURO-LCP Initiative which offers a new standard for evaluating climate plans and has created useful tools to help close the gap in climate adaptation, supporting cities in creating more resilient and fairer futures. Resources can be accessed online.

A celebration of emerging creative talent — with a rich tradition of showcasing award-winning student work — is set to open at Nottingham Trent University (NTU) for its annual art and design showcase.

Graduate Festival 25 by the Nottingham School of Art & Design, and the Student Showcase from the School of Architecture, Design and the Built Environment, will both open at NTU’s City Campus and a range of external venues in Nottingham.

The exhibitions – which are free to the public – span a wide spectrum of creative disciplines, including fashion, knitwear and textile design; fashion marketing and communication; fine art, photography, film and animation; graphic design and illustration; stage and screen design; product and furniture design; as well as architecture, interior architecture and architectural technology.

NTU students will also present their work at leading national events in London, including Graduate Fashion Week – the world’s largest showcase of new fashion talent – and New Designers, where disciplines such as product design, textiles, illustration, and animation will be represented. Graphic design students will also feature at D&AD New Blood, celebrating the brightest new talent in visual communication.

The university continues to partner with Nottingham’s vibrant creative community, with exhibitions and installations hosted in collaboration with local venues such as Nottingham Contemporary, Nottingham Playhouse, Backlit, Surface Gallery and the Carousel, expanding the festival’s citywide presence.

The Graduate Festival 25 begins today (12 May) with Filmmaking and Design for Film and Television student work going on show at the new Design & Digital Arts (D&DA) building. This is then followed by a range of other exhibitions, with full details available via ntu.ac.uk/gradfest.

The Student Showcase begins on 30 May with a public exhibition of product design, furniture design and architecture in the Newton building. Full details are available via ntu.ac.uk/c/adbe-student-showcase.

Michael Marsden, Executive Dean of the Nottingham School of Art & Design, said: “Creativity and design shape our surrounding physical and cultural environments, and the Graduate Festival 25 is an opportunity for the public to get a glimpse of the future.

“These shows represent not only the end of our students’ academic journeys, but the start of their bold and exciting creative careers. We invite the public to engage with our students’ work, hear their stories, and experience what the future of design will look like.”

Dr Andrew Knight, Executive Dean of the School of Architecture, Design and the Built Environment, said: “The annual showcase is always a proud moment for NTU, as it highlights the ingenuity and commitment of our students who apply creative thinking to real-world design challenges.

“These exhibitions offer the chance to see not only fantastically executed designs and prototypes, but also the deep research and problem-solving that goes into every concept. We look forward to welcoming members of the public to see them.”

Exhibitions vary by course area and dates. For full details – and to book for ticketed events – visit: www.ntu.ac.uk/gradfest and ntu.ac.uk/c/adbe-student-showcase

A professor from Cardiff Metropolitan University has been appointed as one of Health and Care Research Wales’ Senior Research Leaders, providing leadership and acting as an ambassador and advocate for health and care research in Wales over the next three years.

Yvonne Wren is a Professor of Speech and Language Therapy at Cardiff Met and has been appointed alongside 20 individuals from academia and the NHS, all of whom demonstrate research leadership, excellence and impact both in Wales and internationally. Over the next three years they will play a vital role in developing the health and care research community in Wales.

Health and Care Research Wales’ Senior Research Leaders are among the most prominent and prestigious health and care researchers in the country. Those selected all have a track record of developing researchers and building Wales’ research capacity and capability, as well as integrating patient and public involvement in research.

Commenting on the appointment, Professor Yvonne Wren said: “It is an honour to be recognised as a Senior Research Leader by Health and Care Research Wales and also to represent Cardiff Metropolitan University amongst this group of prestigious research leaders in health and social care.

“Supporting research in Wales and enabling others to build a research career is a vital part of my role and this appointment will enable me to continue and extend this activity whilst also supporting involvement from those with lived experience of communication disorders, which is key to ensuring our research will lead to impact.”

Managed and supported by the Health and Care Research Wales Faculty, the Senior Research Leaders will continue dedicating time to participate in a range of Faculty’s activities, including funding panels, boards and committees.

Yvonne is also Director of Bristol Speech and Language Therapy Research Unit at North Bristol NHS Trust and Professor of Speech and Communication at the University of Bristol and was elected Fellow of the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapist (RCSLT) in 2022.

The impact of Yvonne’s work, together with the teams that she leads, includes the development of a diagnostic pathway and core outcome set for children with speech sound disorder. She has also used data from a large-scale population study to identify risk factors for persistent speech disorder which has been used to guide clinical practice in speech and language therapy in Wales and included in clinical guidance provided by the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists. Yvonne is currently working with Welsh Government to develop a novel bilingual tool for the surveillance of early speech and language development for children growing up in Wales.

Gareth Cross, Deputy Director of Science, Research and Evidence at Welsh Government, said: “The panel was very impressed with the upward trajectory of the Welsh research environment; several of the panel members had sat on previous Senior Research Leader award panels and noted that great strides were being made in this respect. The breadth of applications was outstanding.

“The Senior Research Leaders’ expertise and dedication will be instrumental in fostering innovation, collaboration, and excellence within our research community, and we look forward to seeing the valuable contributions they will make over the next three years.”

Visit the Health and Care Research Wales website to see the full list of Senior Research Leaders.