Israeli projects for disabled children place first, second in Helen Hamlyn Center Fixperts awards

Two projects by Israeli students of the Holon Institute of Technology (HIT) won first and second place in the Helen Hamlyn Center for Design’s 2026 Fixperts Awards, which connect students to people with disabilities in order to foster the development of practical solutions to everyday problems.

The first-place winner, "Ziv's Bike," was developed by Shai Sheinfeld and Roy After for 5-year-old Ziv Cohen.

Cohen, who suffered a stroke at the age of four months, has hypertonia in his left arm and leg. The project was designed to allow Cohen to ride a bike independently, without adult assistance.

Sheinfeld and After provided an adjustable pedal on the bike to keep Cohen's foot secure, as well as a handlebar extension for better control.

Second was the "Breathing Training for Yarin" project, developed by Noga Tzur and Uri David for 11-year-old Yarin Mosseri.

Mosseri, who has cerebral palsy, developmental delay, and epilepsy, needed to practice controlled exhalation in order to learn how to speak.

Tzur and David's project included a device that supported Mosseri's posture while he practiced and a variety of mouthpiece attachments for different exercises.

Project leader praises Israeli victory amid academic boycott

"The Helen Hamlyn Center is one of the world leaders in the field of inclusive design, and this year two of our students’ projects won first and second place," Prof. Gad Charni from the Design Faculty at HIT, who is leading the projects, said.

"This is significant international recognition of the quality of the projects we have been carrying out for over a decade, and is especially notable in the current period, against the backdrop of the academic boycott of Israel. Academics who attended the ceremony noted the high level of the works and estimated that they could have stood the level of master’s degree final projects.”