Putting biomimicry principles into practice

Real-life, real-time challenges + biomimicry tools = sustainable innovation

Each year The Biomimicry Institute facilitates real-life, real-time student design challenges. These biomimicry challenges provide opportunities for our growing network of biomimicry educators and students to apply biomimicry concepts and tools as a means to arrive at sustainable and innovative designs. Challenge participants cross cultural, language, geographic, institutional, and disciplinary boundaries to work collaboratively to arrive at a biomimetic solutions for a corporate client. The clients then take the solutions from concept to product and donate a percentage of biomimetic product proceeds to The Biomimicry Institute's Innovation for Conservation program.

Spring Semester 2011

The Biomimicry Institute is beginning to organize the next Biomimicry Student Design Challenge scheduled to run during the Spring Semester of 2011. Please check back to this site to learn more about the upcoming challenge as well as to receive updates about past design challenges. 

Spring Semester 2010 + 2009

The Biomimicry Institute has facilitated two Student Design Challenges that were sponsored by a small and well-known outdoor gear manufacturer, Pacific Outdoor Equipment (POE). The first design challenge was to use biomimicry tools and principles to design a specialized backpacking tent. The Biomimicry Institute created the interdisciplinary and collaborative design team of university students and faculty and facilitated the design process throughout the semester-long project, from idea to prototype. The 2009 design concept has gone to production and is currently sold by POE (see images below).

 The 2010 design concept is currently undergoing prototyping and field testing. It will be available for purchase in POE's Winter Catalogue in January of 2012.

Read a paper written by Marjan Eggermont (University of Calgary, professor) about The Biomimicry Institute's 2009 Student Design Challenge sponsored by POE. 

Peruse a presentation created by Marjan Eggermont (University of Calgary, professor) about The Biomimicry Institute's 2009 Student Design Challenge sponsored by POE.

See more product pages from the 2009 POE catalogue.