Saxun and CEU Cardenal Herrera bring industrial design closer to the realities of business

Designing a product starts with an idea, but it doesn’t end there. For that idea to become a real solution, you need to understand how it is manufactured, how it is assembled, what materials are involved and what constraints arise throughout the process.

It is with this aim in mind that the new partnership agreement between Saxun and CEU Cardenal Herrera University in Valencia has been established, enabling fourth-year students on the Bachelor’s degree in Industrial Design and Product Development to gain an insight into the day-to-day workings of the industry.

The starting point will be a project very similar to those they are likely to encounter in their future careers: developing an accessory for Saxun Bioclimatic Pergolas, working with real products and constraints, and taking into account both the design and its future manufacture.

From the classroom to industry: a masterclass at Saxun

Around 50 students visited our headquarters in Sax (Alicante), where they were able to see first-hand how a design idea eventually becomes a product.

The day began with a presentation on Saxun’s history, our industrial activities and the various families of solutions that form part of our portfolio.

Then came one of the key moments: visiting the assembly department and seeing first-hand the production processes behind each solution. Fabrication, manufacturing, assembly, components and assembly systems are all part of the design process long before a product reaches the market. Understanding them enables better decisions to be made right from the early stages of the project.

The tour ended at our showroom, where the students were able to learn about various Saxun solutions and, together with the teaching team, explore in greater depth the challenge they will be tackling during the course. There, Pedro Jesús Vázquez, from Saxun’s Technical Department, outlined the project’s objectives to the students and introduced them to the products they will be working on.

An industrial design project

The collaboration does not end with this first visit. Further activities are planned for the coming months, including talks and meetings with students, as well as a visit to the university to find out how the projects are progressing and to see the solutions that have been developed.

The aim is for students to experience a process that is as close as possible to the product development process within a company: a specific brief, defined requirements, deadlines and a series of technical and production constraints that they must incorporate into their proposals.

Over the coming months, they will observe, research and develop their own proposals to explore new possibilities relating to Saxun Bioclimatic Pergolas. This collaboration directly links two sectors that can enrich one another: academia and industry. As Luis Calabuig explains, “For the students, who are the next generation of talent, it is very enriching; and for industry, too, it is valuable to have access to these new ideas.”

New ideas for rethinking outdoor spaces

The project comes at a particularly interesting time for industrial design. New technologies and artificial intelligence are transforming tools, methodologies and ways of working. At the same time, they are also changing our relationship with the spaces we inhabit.

This change opens up new possibilities for the design of sun protection solutions and, in particular, for bioclimatic pergolas, which are capable of transforming an outdoor space and expanding the ways in which it can be used.

For these students and future design professionals, this will be an opportunity to gain an insider’s view of the industry. For us, it is a way of looking at our products from fresh perspectives.