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Students engineering project lights up Belgian TV

01/04/2015
Two product design and engineering students from Middlesex University are celebrating after an innovative jacket they created for a Belgian TV commercial made its on-screen debut.

Two product design and engineering students from Middlesex University are celebrating after an innovative jacket they created for a Belgian TV commercial made its on-screen debut.

The jacket, worn by a football fan and featuring LED lights which flash to display in different coloured patterns and text, appears in adverts for Electrabel, the largest electricity producer in the Netherlands and Belgium.

Students Dean Chapman and Ilyan Kukushliev worked on the project as part of a team with top designer Moritz Waldemeyer.  Electrabel is known for its innovative adverts and commissioned Waldemeyer to create the jacket that featured in five short clips to be aired as part of its sponsorship deal with Belgian football.

Moritz Waldemeyer has also worked with the likes of Will.I.Am, Kylie Minogue, Leona Lewis and Rihanna and has continued to invite Middlesex engineers and designers onto his projects after being impressed with their talents on previous high profile commissions for Take That and Ellie Goulding.

Third-year student Dean Chapman (20) said: "The project was great learning experience of working in a pressurised environment with real time constraints.  We worked hard programming the chips, soldering components and wiring circuit boards together to create the jackets. It's rewarding to see the results and know that our work is being seen across Belgium."

Designer Moritz Waldemeyer said: "My collaboration with Middlesex University has once again been a fantastic experience.  The students are really professional, hard working and very talented.  It's a good opportunity to pass on my experience and help them get involved with some cool projects.  I've already started working with more students on further projects and hope to continue this partnership in the future."

Middlesex University Senior Lecturer Debbie Jedwab sees setting up live projects such as this one as a key part of developing our students' employability skills:  "It's excellent for our students to have the opportunity to work with and learn from Moritz, who is a leader in his field.  He is always involved in high profile and innovative projects which is ideal for the students' CVs."

The students took part in the project which formed part of their industrial placements for redLoop, the Middlesex University design and innovation centre.

View the video clips of the innovative jacket

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