17 February 2012

Jewellery students strike gold in medal competition

Image shows Alasdair Taylor's winning design

A trio of Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art and Design students have struck gold in a competition to design medals which will be awarded to recognise excellence in medical education research.

The competition, run by the Association for the Study of Medical Education (ASME) challenged Year 3 students from the Jewellery and Metal Design programme at DJCAD to design a new medal to be presented annually to a scientist from around the world who has made an outstanding contribution to the goals of the organisation.

Alasdair Taylor (24), from Ayrshire, won first prize and £400 for his design for the prestigious ASME Gold Medal, which will be made later this year and presented to winners of the award for the next five years.

Grant Herron (26), from Dundee, also received £400 after winning the President's Medal category, while 21-year-old Kirsty Nicholson, originally from Glasgow, has presented with prize money of £100 after being named runner-up in the Gold Medal competition.

Jewellery & Metal Design course director Teena Ramsay congratulated the trio on their achievements, saying, "The students all presented designs of a very high standard that displayed exciting possibilities. The judging panel were equally impressed by what they saw.

"I have a personal interest in medals as I have made them for several companies in the past so when the ASME approached us I was very enthusiastic about the project.

"Working to a brief and budget is very challenging but also rewarding and helps the students develop a professional practice within the client arena. Both the Gold Medal and President's Medal will be made five times, and the ASME have said they will ask our students to compete to design replacement medals in another five years time."

ASME seeks to improve the quality of medical education by bringing together individuals and organisations with interests and responsibilities in medical and healthcare education. Professor Ronald Harden, from the University of Dundee, was the 2009 winner of the Gold Medal.

Judges from the organisation were so impressed by Alasdair Taylor's design that they are looking to use it as a potential future logo for the association.

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