Students in Utah State University’s Outdoor Product Design and Development program were invited to attend and participate in the Outdoor Retailer Snow Show in Denver, CO where they, along with faculty, hosted presentations, panels, and workshops as well as provided repair and textile repurposing services to show attendees.

Representatives of Outdoor Retailer asked students from the OPDD program to run the textile repurposing station during the 2019 Summer Show and were asked to return based on the popularity of the booth. Students took scrap fabrics that were donated to the program and sewed them into functional ski and snowboard goggle bags to be given away to attendees. Students also hosted a hands-on workshop where show attendees could learn about prototyping and the skills learned in the program.

In addition to student participation in the show, OPDD faculty member Andrew Deceuster presented on the introduction of artificial intelligence to the design process and how designers can begin using these tools to accelerate and enhance their designs and processes.

Deceuster was also involved in a panel focused on discussing the opportunities for industry to support and help prepare the workforce of tomorrow, including helping students in university programs like OPDD.

During this panel, Kristen Freaney, a representative from the Outdoor Industry Association (OIA), announced a unique partnership between OIA and OPDD as well as several other university programs to create the Outdoor Industry Business Certificate that will launch later in the year. The certificate will consist of online non-credit classes that will help individuals looking to enter the outdoor industry supplement their education and gain a certificate that will more easily help them transition into the outdoor industry.

Industry collaborations made possible through the Manufacturing and Outdoor Products Support Hub, a partnership between Utah Manufacturing Extension Service and Outdoor Product Design & Development.