Design & shopping: Eight degrees of satisfaction

Where can you find the Ron Arads, Phillipe Starcks and Jean Muirs of the next millennium? At this year's student shows, of course.

It's an exciting time for anyone on the lookout for new design talent. MODE, the Contemporary Home Show, begins next week at the Business Design Centre in Islington. It will feature a range of new designers and their up-to-the-minute products. Talent scouts will also be scouring the degree shows at art colleges and universities all over the country to secure first pieces of work by the best of this year's graduates. Almost all universities are putting on shows which will be open to the public, but the following are recommended:

The Royal College of Art shows, sponsored by The Independent, will feature 4,000 objects by students from 17 art, design and technology courses. Past students include Chris Ofili, Philip Treacy and Zandra Rhodes. The sculpture show, from 26 May to 6 June, is at 15-25 Howie St, London. The following shows take place at the Royal College of Art, Kensington, London: fine and applied art 27 May-6 June; fashion 9 June (by ticket only, 3pm, pounds 8); design, communications 23 June to 4 July (closed 2 July). Look out for the personal alarm bra, a jewellery-designing website, Dirk Ahlgrim's Lemon Squeezer and Lisa Z Morgan's "Floraphilia", pictured. For details call the show hotline on 0171-590 4198, or visit the website at www.rca.ac.uk.

The City and Guilds of London Art School Graduate Shows 99 run from 10am-6.45pm, 24-26 June, and 10am-5pm, Sunday 27 June. Look out for stone and wood carving and decorative arts such as the snail table pictured. The exhibitions are held at 124 Kennington Park Road, London SE11. Call 0171-735 2306 or take a look at their website at http://www.cityandguilsartschool. ac.uk.

Bournemouth University's degree shows will take place from 25-30 June, at Bournemouth University, Poole House, Talbot Campus, Poole, Dorset. For details call 01202 503750. Certain to be of interest is work by Sophie Cave whose project includes turning an Arab dhow into a research base for nautical archaeology.

Work produced by the fine art and ceramics courses at Camberwell College of Art is highly regarded. Look out for decorative pieces by Helen Davidson. Also on show is work from courses in graphic design, printmaking, history of art and design, silversmithing and metalwork. The show runs from 22- 25 June, 10am-8pm, and is based at Peckham Road, London SE5. Call 0171- 514 6403 for details.

Kingston's art and design faculty's senior lecturer Leo Duff is hoping that this year the centenary of art and design education will produce a spectacular event. The show will be held at the Faculty of Design, Knight's Park, Kingston, from 16-19 June, and is open 10am-9pm daily (10am- 4pm Saturday). Call 0181-547 7066 for details. Work to look out for is a TV headrest that doubles as a child's rocking horse, by Alex Muspratt- Williams, and a set of matching stools, by Luke King. Both pieces were designed in conjunction with Ikea.

The degree show of the University of Plymouth is at the Faculty of Arts and Education, University of Plymouth, Earl Richards Road North, Exeter. It runs from 25 June-8 July (not Sundays), 10am -4pm every day. Call Cath Ager on 01392 475027 for details. Work includes the lighting, pictured, by S Shepherd, and screens by Anna Marshall.

Glasgow School of Art's show runs from 26 May to 2 June and features work by students on fine art, design and craft courses. See Carol Wiseman's silver jewellery, Arne De Ceapog's textiles and the "Hot Metal" hot plate by Craig Glass. Most shows will be held in the Mackintosh Building, 167 Renfrew Street, Glasgow, but call 0141-353 4500 for details.

The University of Brighton's degree shows in graphics and ceramics will be held at the Fourth Wing, Faculty of Arts and Architecture, Brighton. The shows run from 26 June to 1 July. Previous students have gone on to design products for Habitat; this year's installation by Kate Buxley has been shortlisted for the New Contemporaries '99 exhibition. Phone 01273 643 012 for details.