Awards and Education

We have a statutory remit to promote the education of Universal Design by all students and professionals involved in the design, manufacture and maintenance of environments.  

Key to this is highlighting and awarding good practice.  

We therefore support Universal Design categories in the following national awards for proefessionals schemes in Ireland:

• RIAI ( Royal Institute of the Architects of Ireland) Irish Architecture Awards
• IDI (Institute of Designers in Ireland) Irish Design Awards
• IDI (Institute of Designers in Ireland) Graduate Student Awards
• IIA (Irish Internet Association) Dot IE Net Visionary Awards

Universal Design Grand Challenge Student Awards

We also run our own awards! The Universal Design Grand Challenge Student Awards is a student competition that promotes and awards excellence in student projects that feature solutions that work for everyone.  Read about the 2020 Universal Design Grand Challenge Student Awards Winners

We are delighted that, once again, the Universal Design Grand Challenge will run in 2022. The closing date for applications was Friday, 1st June 2022. We received a large number of entries, and judging is currently ongoing. Find out more about the competition and check back again soon for further details on our finalists and to register to attend the awards night on 15^th November 2022.

Universal Design in Education

On Wednesday 11^th November 2020, students from third-level colleges across Ireland presented their design projects at the Seventh annual Universal Design Grand Challenge Student Awards ceremony. The awards are an initiative of the Centre for Excellence in Universal Design at the National Disability Authority, supported by Enterprise Ireland.