I’m not sure what the IDI’s relationship is like with other design disciplines but it seems to be lacking in relation to ID. During college we had little interaction with them, the awards were mentioned but most were put off by the cost of entry/lack of enthusiasm around the event. In my current employment, again, I have no interaction with them and it seems pretty pointless to become a member looking at the events calender. I really think it would be a great place for the professional ID scene in Ireland to interact with students but it is yet to happen.
I’ve noticed design partners are becoming more active with both students and professionals to promote ID in Ireland with a talk on international design day (IDI organised it tbf) and a student design project for Maynooth and NCAD?
There’s also a few interesting events lined up for Design Week in November although Im not sure how much of an input IDI have in this.
The Dyson Award is a decent competition however it doesn’t cater to all project types.