10 students taking part in the ART497 sustainable packaging design class, which is running in the Fall 2019 semester undertook a study abroad trip to the UK over the summer.

They attended a two-day sustainable packaging workshop at Loughborough University along with students from Loughborough and Michigan State University. The first day the students gained a better understanding of sustainable packaging, they then worked in small groups with the international students to design and mock up sustainable packaging solutions. On the second day, they worked on creating a board game to teach secondary school children about sustainable packaging and its impact on a global scale. 

To enhance their cultural visit the students were then taken to London. The first day they went to the UAE embassy to meet with the UAE ambassador, H.E. Mansoor Abulhoul. The students explained their visit and the upcoming plans to work with Tokyo University students in Japan to create sustainable packaging for their summer Olympics and Expo 2020. They were also filmed by Dubai Television and interviewed by the National newspaper. The second day the students were taken to the Design Museum which has a strong sustainable design ethos and visited the Victoria & Albert museum to witness design from the past and to gain a better understand of history of packaging design.