Do you have an engineering idea that just might help the planet? You might want to show it off in this year’s Dyson Awards.
Three months into a new year, and we’re not only seeing new technology coming out, but another chance for big ideas to get out there on the world scene.
We are, of course, talking about an engineering competition, and if you’re an engineer or an inventor or just someone with a neat idea that you can demonstrate, you may want to check out this year’s James Dyson Awards, which is launching with the theme of ideas that can improve the planet.
Open to students around the world and run by James Dyson’s charity, the James Dyson Foundation, the Dyson Awards look for ideas that can make a difference, and go on to win up to $50,000 prize money at the global level, while national winners can receive $8,800, not to mention support and mentorship to help engineers and inventors get their ideas off the ground.
Dyson notes that the best inventions will solve a real-world problem that impacts the planet, with clear solutions that make a difference.
“We are looking for young engineers who are hard-wired to solve problems sustainably, often using less energy and fewer materials, and who want to improve the world through their ideas,” said Dyson, Founder of Dyson and the James Dyson Awards.
“Young people have the ideas that can change things for the better, and they should be encouraged,” he said. “The James Dyson Award gives them the platform to pursue their inventions, and I look forward to judging this year’s entries. Good luck!”
Locally, there’s a winner at the national level in Australia every year, but whether or not they make it to the finalist in the global awards is a different matter altogether.
There’s fierce competition there, and internationally, winners in 2022 included a smart sensor for wounds invented by students from Warsaw University of Technology in Poland, as well as a sustainability winner from Canadian students that recycles plastic bottles into affordable 3D printer filament for developing nations to print objects (below).
Previous winners included an idea that could be used to treat breast cancer and a smart motorcycle helmet conceived in Australia.
They’re just a sample of what the James Dyson Awards havre uncovered, with 390 inventions seeing prize money in nearly 20 years of the competition being run.
This year’s entrants can find more at the James Dyson Awards site, with entries needing to be in by July 19.
