Planetree Design Award

All DAE students are eligible to submit projects via an open call, which invites proposals that add concrete value to the mental health of vulnerable citizens of Brabant. The aim of the Planetree Design Award is to build a bridge between students of DAE and clients of GGzE, to strengthen local collaboration and community.

From the open call submission, an initial shortlist of eight candidates is created. Three are then selected by a jury to present their projects at a health seminar during Dutch Design Week. The winner is announced at the DAE Awards Ceremony, during the DAE Graduation Show. The winner receives €2500 and a trophy designed by a DAE alumnus.

History

In 2021, DAE renewed its collaboration with mental healthcare institution GGzE De Grote Beek in Eindhoven. The collaboration includes an annual award, the Planetree Design Award, as well as lectures and excursions from GGzE by experts on mental health, and a yearly seminar on mental health during Dutch Design Week. The main goal of the collaboration is to inspire students from DAE and to offer insights on social innovation to clients and experts of GGzE, as well as sharing and exchanging knowledge on design and mental health.

The first edition of the award took place in 2021, following a period of online lectures and workshops. In 2022, 127 MA students and 13 DAE tutors took part in similar lectures and workshops, looking at health issues from their design-oriented critical and creative perspectives. Supported by a team of 16 GGzE-experts, the students followed the institution’s daily work with clients and employees and had a chance to learn from their experiences, difficulties, and ambitions.

In 2022, more than one hundred master students, and design tutors looked at mental health issues from their design-oriented critical and creative perspective. Supported by a team of 16 GGzE-experts, the students followed the institution’s daily work with clients and employees and learn from their experiences, difficulties, and ambitions.

All students are eligible to submit projects for the Planetree Design Award open call, which is usually issued in the summer and closes in August. Eight projects are nominated from the submissions, to be assessed by a five-strong jury of mental health and design professionals.

In 2023, the jury included: → Valentijn Visch (associate professor at Industrial Design Engineering TU Delft) → Marita Bossers (director Planetree Nederland) → Yvonne Korsten (member Centrale Clientenraad GGzE) → Richelle Semil (chairman Centrale Clientenraad GGzE) → Harrie Smetsers (agogic employee De Boei) → Rik Konings (sociotherapist De Woenselse Poort) → Ingrid Willems (board member GGzE)

Three projects are selected from the nominees to go through to final presentations during the DAE/GGzE mental health seminar during Dutch Design Week, and the winner is announced at the DAE Awards Ceremony.