A student has reached the finals of a national design competition for creating a prototype of a temperature sensor to keep people safe in cold water.

Jake Lee from Islington, who studies at Glasgow School of Art, is among the six finalists shortlisted for the Design Innovation in Plastics (DIP) competition.

The DIP is the longest-running plastics design competition for university students in the UK and Ireland.

The competition is backed by the Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining (IOM3), and sponsored by Covestro, a global supplier of premium polymers.

This year's challenge was 'Life off-grid - independently powered products'.

Jake presented a prototype of his invention, SkinTemp - a core temperature sensor for safety in cold water - during the final judging session.

Islington Gazette: Jake's shortlisted design is called 'SkinTemp'Jake's shortlisted design is called 'SkinTemp' (Image: DIP)

The finalists had the opportunity to explain their research, material selection, as well as other factors like innovation, sustainability, and cost.

Chairman of judges, Richard Brown, said: "It’s always a challenge when we judge the entries presented by our six finalists, and this year was no different – the quality was extremely high.

"The presentations were professional, succinct, and covered all the criteria of the brief.

"Our finalists have really thought through their designs and materials, and it’s very evident that the work they did at their training course, kindly hosted by Sumitomo (SHI) Demag as part of their prize, has paid dividends.

"In short, we have six very good finalists, and we will look forward to announcing the results at the award ceremony."

The winner will be announced at the DIP award ceremony held at IOM3’s headquarters in Euston on July 5.

The top prize is a sum of £1,000 with cash prizes for all finalists, along with work placements or training courses with design and industry sponsors like Brightworks, Innovate Design and PDD.

The other finalists include Gargi Agrawalla, with her product Ear Boost+ for simultaneously dehumidifying and charging cochlear implants; Brandon Hopkins, who developed Saltbuoy, a salt-water-powered data buoy; and Joe Shade, who has designed Bijou Smart Hive, a smart beehive that monitors and provides information about the wellbeing of the bees.