We’re delighted to announce that Julia Collins will be a judge for our V&A Innovate National Schools Challenge 2025 – 26.
Julia is a food tech entrepreneur who got her start in New York’s restaurant scene before helping to launch Zume Pizza — a company that uses robotics and automation to make pizza. In 2019, she went on to found Planet FWD, a platform that helps consumer brands understand and reduce their carbon footprints.
We spoke to Julia about being on the panel and why design is important to her.
What are you most looking forward to as a V&A Innovate judge, and why?
I’m most looking forward to meeting the next generation of designers, inventors, and makers These are the young people who see the world not just as it is, but as it could be. I can’t wait to see how they use design to turn imagination into impact, and to solve real problems in creative, unexpected ways. There’s nothing more inspiring than witnessing that spark, when someone realizes they can shape the future with their own hands.
What do this year’s themes of ‘Rest, Join, Reimagine’ mean to you?
These themes describe the rhythm of meaningful innovation.
- Rest reminds us that creativity requires pause. These moments of reflection and care let new ideas take root.
- Join speaks to the power of collaboration and of joining forces across disciplines, perspectives, and experiences to create something bigger than ourselves.
- Reimagine is the heartbeat of design the courage to look at the world as it is and ask, “What if we made it better?”
Together, they capture the cycle of how real change happens: we rest, we join, and we reimagine again and again.
Why is design important to you?
When my son was six years old, he said something that completely stopped me in my tracks:
“You know, Mommy everything in the world is just made up. That stop sign, that building, our car… it’s all made up. So why don’t we just remake things the right way?”
That’s design in its purest form. It’ the belief that the world is not fixed, but designed, and therefore can be redesigned.
Design is how we align imagination with intention. It’s how we solve real problems, from climate change to community well-being – by rethinking what’s possible. For the leaders of tomorrow, design will be one of the most powerful tools they have. It’s how they’ll build systems that are more sustainable, more just, and more humane.
What invention or innovation could you not live without?
Right now, generative AI. It’s expanding how we imagine, create, and communicate, like a new design partner that helps translate big ideas into action. For me, it’s not about replacing human creativity, but amplifying it. It’s a reminder that innovation works best when technology and imagination move together toward solving real problems.
Can you share any top tips for the students taking part in V&A Innovate this year?
- Follow your curiosity. The questions that keep you up at night are your best creative compass. Pay attention to your own quirks, the wacky things that you are obsessed with – these are often the source of your best ideas.
- Think with your hands. Don’t wait until it’s perfect. Go ahead and sketch, build, and test your way forward.
- Collaborate bravely. Great ideas grow stronger when shared.
- Tell a story. Design isn’t just about what you make, it’s about why it matters.
- And most of all, keep reimagining. The world is made up, which means you have the power to remake it better.
Register to take part in Innovate 2025 – 26
Could your students design with empathy and challenge the status quo? Register to take part on the V&A Innovate webpage and enter your students’ ideas by 6 March 2026.
V&A Innovate is the V&A’s annual National Schools Challenge offering students in years 7, 8 and 9 the opportunity to design a solution to a real-world problem inspired by the V&A’s collections.
