All you young Indian minds brush yourself up and design something that solves a problem, big or small.
James Dyson Award, which officially opened for entries yesterday, extended its hunt to India, for the first time, along with 22 other countries.
Each year James and his team of engineers and scientists hunt for solutions to real world problems and gives 30,000 pounds, as prize money for the winning project's future development.
The contest is open to university level students (and recent graduates) studying product design, industrial design and engineering. The award encourages ideas that challenge convention, lean engineering - less is more, and design with the environment in mind. The best inventions are simple and practical yet provide a solution to a real world problem. A national winner is selected for every country the award runs in, before going through to the final phase where the international winner is chosen by James Dyson
Speaking on the same, Dyson said, "There is normally a better solution to a problem. Engineers challenge convention and have brilliant ideas; The James Dyson Award looks for remarkable yet simple designs with the potential to have a huge impact on society. Each year I am amazed by the ideas and I look forward to seeing this year's raft of entries."
On that note, the past winners have helped to tackle the problem of over fishing, transportation of vaccines in the developing world, global food waste, and mortality rates of premature babies.
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Now in its 14th year, the award rewards those who elegantly solve a problem through intelligent engineering solutions.
Last year's International Winner was Isis Shiffer's EcoHelmet, a foldable bike helmet which uses a unique honeycomb paper configuration to protect the head from impact; folds flat when not in use and is made from 100 percent recyclable materials.
With bike share programmes on the rise around the world, EcoHelmet's lightweight and practical design makes it an attractive option for city cyclists, where road accidents are frequent and head injuries could be fatal.
Shiffer shared, "The financial support and exposure from winning the James Dyson Award has allowed me to fully commercialise EcoHelmet. I am honoured to have had this extraordinary experience and I cannot wait to see my fully-fledged design roll off the production line this year."
Last year's UK national winner was William Broadway's ISOBAR, a portable vaccine cooling device designed for developing countries where many programmes fail to meet the international standards for temperature safe vaccine distribution, leading to the vaccine freezing and losing potency. ISOBAR provides a solution by maintaining stable temperature control for up to 30 days.
Broadway said, "Winning the 2016 UK leg of the National James Dyson Award has given me the confidence to bring ISOBAR, a complex device, to market. It has not only helped me with its development through testing and further iterations but provided me with a platform to showcase my idea which has resulted in many opportunities. I am now looking forward to another exciting year ahead for ISOBAR".
What is the prize?
-International Winner: The international prize is 30,000 pounds for the student and 5,000 pounds for the student's university department.
-Up to two International Runners-up: 5,000 pounds each.
-National Winners: 2,000 pounds each.
What is the competition timeline?
-Opens: 30 March 2017, Close: 20 July 2017.
- National winners and finalists announced: 7 September 2017.
- Dyson engineers' shortlist: 28 September 2017.
- International winner and finalists announced: 26 October 2017.
Who can enter the James Dyson Award?
Any university level student of product design, industrial design or engineering, or graduate within four years of graduation, who is studying or studied in Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, China, France, Germany, Hong Kong, India, Italy, Ireland, Japan, Malaysia, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Russia, Singapore, Spain, South Korea, Switzerland, Taiwan, the UK and the USA.
On a related note, Sir James Dyson is a British inventor, industrial designer and founder of the Dyson company. He is best known as the inventor of the Dual Cyclone bagless vacuum cleaner, which works on the principle of cyclonic separation.
Disclaimer: No Business Standard Journalist was involved in creation of this content