# Project Description
Oghenerume Egbeniyoko
10029951@network.rca.ac.uk
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About
Oghenerume “Rume” Egbeniyoko (he/him) is a British-Nigerian Design Engineer whose work bridges the worlds of art, engineering, and cultural innovation. With a passion nurtured over more than a decade, his career is dedicated to reimagining tradition through sustainable design practices.
His journey led him to the renowned Innovation Design Engineering (IDE) program at Imperial College London and the Royal College of Art. As the inaugural recipient of the Virgil Abloh Scholarship, he received full funding, mentorship and gained industry visibility and a platform to extend Virgil’s legacy of inclusivity and cultural advancement.
Rooted at the intersection of heritage and future-making, his professional and academic practice explores how indigenous aesthetics, low-tech processes, and material storytelling can spark new economies and empower communities. His signature project, IVIE, was developed in his final year and stands as a testament to this ethos.
IVIE is a reimagining of Nigerian coral bead jewellery, fusing experimental manufacturing techniques with ecological and cultural lenses to bring forward positive change. The project introduces a novel biomaterial crafted from waste eggshells that authentically replicates the varying looks and symbolic significance of traditional coral beads while addressing the environmental cost of coral extraction and plastic alternatives. Furthermore, IVIE moves beyond material innovation into societal empowerment by decentralizing production and connecting waste collectors, rural tappers, artisans, and diaspora voices as co-creators of a new visual language. Each bead in the IVIE ecosystem is both an artifact and an agent, symbolically weaving together sustainability, tradition, and identity.
Through ventures like IVIE, Rume demonstrates how cultural objects can become regenerative tools for social and environmental transformation. He envisions a future where design honours heritage, empowers communities, and pioneers new narratives of sustainability, urging others to see material culture not as static tradition but as a living, regenerative force for good.
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