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A dual autonomous tram, a medical personal handling device for the disabled, and equipment for filling crates at an injection molding machine – these were the topics dealt with by participants in the 18th year of the University of West Bohemia's interdisciplinary educational DESING+ project, in which they worked in mixed inter-faculty teams. The most successful teams in the competition's February presentations presented the designs of their technical products in English at the 13th DESING+ workshop. The students in all of the winning teams appreciated the opportunity of multidisciplinary cooperation.

The topics set by industrial companies as part of this year's DESING+ project were tackled by six interdisciplinary teams of students made up of future design engineers from the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, designers from the Ladislav Sutnar Faculty of Design and Art, health care professionals from the Faculty of Health Care Studies, and marketing specialists from the Faculty of Economics. A total of 56 students took part in the project this year. The best three teams presented their results in English at the DESING+ workshop. Members of these teams received personal certificates from the university as well as certificates from the participating companies.

"The project has a long tradition and very good reputation. Since it began in 2004, it has had twenty external partners participating, with a total of 57 topics set, based on which 207 designs or solutions were created. The personal certificates bearing the students' names as well as the certificates issued by the companies carry a lot of weight and are particularly useful when searching for employment," says professor Stanislav Hosnedl from the Department of Machine Design at the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, founder and guarantor of the interdisciplinary DESING+ project at UWB. Approximately 1,400 UWB students have taken part in the project over the years.

"The project is an excellent example of interdisciplinary cooperation between students. It teaches them how to collaborate across multiple fields and develops a systematic approach, creativity, perseverance and other essential qualities for their future careers," says UWB Rector Miroslav Holeček, under whose auspices the workshop was held. The University of West Bohemia's strength is its ability to foster connections and cooperation between different fields of study, which the university wants to further enhance in the future. Projects based on interdisciplinary cooperation and interdisciplinary study programs fulfill UWB's priorities laid down in the university's strategic intent for 2021–2025.

The Škoda Transportation Company offered students the futuristic topic of a Dual Autonomous Tram. The students' task was to design a tram that would be used not only to transport passengers, but also for delivering parcels, with people collecting them at tram stops. The winning team, led by Jan Mikeska (Faculty of Mechanical Engineering) and his assistant Anton Smirnov (Ladislav Sutnar Faculty of Design and Art), presented their design at the workshop. The students presented a concept of a tram that would be used for passenger transport during the day and at nighttime it would be partly used for transporting parcels, which would be loaded and unloaded by mobile robots. The jury also acknowledged the technical sophistication of the project, the level of the designers' involvement, the significant contribution of the health care experts, the teamwork involved as well as the marketing specialists' critical view of the economic aspect of the project.

The assignment of the Equipment for Filling Crates at an Injection Molding Machine by ENGEL Strojírenská Company was best completed by the team led by Ondřej Váňa (Faculty of Mechanical Engineering) and his assistant Martin Hanzelka (Ladislav Sutnar Faculty of Design and Art). The jury gave them a high score mainly due to the sophistication, comprehensiveness and applicability of the design, which reflected the quality cooperation between all team members.

The German company Konstruktionsbüro Dostal set the topic of Medical Personal Handling Device for the Disabled. The winning team was led by Matěj Dvořák (Faculty of Mechanical Engineering) and his assistant Jonáš Baierle (Ladislav Sutnar Faculty of Design and Art). Their design was presented at the workshop by designers Daniel Nový and Martin Stejskal. Their equipment is intended not only for hoisting, supporting and transporting disabled patients, as the assignment instructions stated, but it can also be used for physical therapy purposes. The jury pointed out the purposeful utilization of the methodology, the degree of elaboration and the high-quality presentation and defense.