Dyson’s charity is now accepting submissions for the annual James Dyson Award, an engineering competition that aims to promote sustainability. The competition challenges undergraduate and graduate engineers to address global issues, such as healthcare and environmental problems.
Past winners have developed innovative solutions for plastic recycling and biodegradable materials, as well as at-home medical diagnostics. The competition has awarded prize money to 390 inventions, and over 70% of past global winners are currently commercialising their winning inventions.
According to Sir James Dyson, young people are the key to solving global problems sustainably, and the James Dyson Award provides a platform for young inventors to pursue their ideas. The competition’s global winners, chosen by Sir James Dyson, receive funding and recognition to help turn their ideas into practical applications.
Winners of the James Dyson Award can expect a range of benefits to help further develop their inventions. Global winners are awarded $50,000 AUD and national winners receive $8,800 AUD to support the next phase of their project’s development. In addition to financial support, winners also receive valuable media attention, which previous winners have cited as an important factor in getting their ideas off the ground. The Award also offers support to past winners who are commercialising their inventions, including networking opportunities and mentorship from other winners.
Here were some past James Dyson Award winners:
- 2022 International winner – SmartHEAL (Poland) – A smart sensor for dressings which indicates how well a wound is healing by measuring its pH level, invented by students from Warsaw University of Technology.
- 2022 Sustainability winner – Polyformer (Canada) – A machine that recycles plastic bottles into affordable 3D printer filament for developing nations, invented by students from McMaster University.
- 2021 International winner – HOPES (Singapore) – A device for pain-free, at-home eye pressure testing, opeing up access to glaucoma testing, by students of the National University of Singapore.
- 2021 Sustainability winner – Plastic Scanner (Netherlands) – A low-cost, handheld device to identify plastic for recycling, by Jerry de Vos from TU Delft.
- 2021 Medical winner – REACT (GB) – A device to stem bleeding to help save the lives of stabbing victims, by Joseph Bentley from Loughborough university.
The deadline to apply for the James Dyson Award 2023: Midnight PST on 19 July 2022.
Visit the James Dyson Award official page for more details.
