Ten of the world’s leading universities will introduce innovative grad school projects at the Global Grad Show. The first of its kind, the program will unfold at Dubai Design Week, October 26 through 31, and will feature student designers from Eindhoven University of Technology, ECAL (Lausanne), Hong Kong Polytechnic, KAIST (Daejeon), KMD Keio (Kanagawa), Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Cambridge), National University Singapore, Pratt Institute (New York City), Royal College of Art (London), and Tsinghua University (Beijing).

Dozens of projects in total—each chosen by the show’s curator, the designer and writer Brendan McGetrick—are organized into seven categories: Health, Home, Work, Play, Energy, Construction and Memory. “I looked for projects with qualities that go beyond aesthetics,” McGetrick says. “Design exhibitions often fixate on style alone—a lamp or chair, for instance, that looks beautiful, or just unusual, but doesn’t provide a fundamentally different experience or benefit from any other lamp or chair. In Global Grad Show, many of the exhibits are attempting to apply design to open up new possibilities or to meet currently unmet needs and desires.”

Some of the shared themes include new sustainable materials, autonomous vehicles, and stress reduction and sleep promotion. Projects include an ocean-cleaning luxury yacht, a smart home system, and a coffeemaker that stimulates the user’s five senses.

Dr. Amina Al Rustamani of Dubai Design District, which is hosting the exhibit, says, “As one of the most vibrant and multicultural cities in the Middle East, Dubai is the ideal location to host such an exhibition. This unique platform will provide a level field for emerging designers and creatives in a way that traditional design centers with established institutions and agendas, such as London or New York, simply couldn’t.”