James Dyson Calls For Budding Engineers To Tackle The Problems Our Planet Faces

The James Dyson Award, an annual engineering competition with a sustainability-focus run by Dyson’s charity, is now open and accepting submissions from young inventors who have ideas to improve our planet.

Since 2005, the Award has challenged entrepreneurial undergraduates and recent graduates of engineering to tackle a global problem, from environmental issues to improving healthcare practices. Past winners have developed solutions to advance plastic recycling (Plastic Scanner) and the biodegradability of materials (MarinaTex, AuREUS), as well as bettering at-home medical diagnostics (Blue Box, HOPES).

To date, the competition has awarded 390 inventions with prize money, and over 70% of past global winners are commercialising their winning inventions. We need more game-changing ideas to tackle global environmental and medical problems, and James Dyson thinks young people have the answers and drive to make a difference.

Sir James Dyson, Founder, said: “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. Young people have the ideas that can change things for the better, and they should be encouraged. The James Dyson Award gives them the platform to pursue their inventions, and I look forward to judging this year’s entries. Good luck!”

Sir James Dyson chooses the competition’s global winners; they receive vital funding and high-profile recognition – key first steps to take their ideas into real life practical application.

What can winners expect?

1. Prize money. Global winners receive NZ$57,000 and National winners receive NZ$9,500 to put towards the next phase of their invention’s development.
2. Media attention. Previous winners have highlighted the awareness brought by the Award as one of the most valuable contributions to getting their ideas off the ground.
3. Past winner support. Last year the Award launched a network for past winners commercialising their inventions; events and networking opportunities for winners to connect, share experiences and consider inter-winner mentorship.

Each participating country and region will award a National winner (NZ$9,500) and two National runners-up. The National winners are chosen by an external panel in collaboration with Dyson. Last year, the Award opened for the first time in Thailand and Turkey, and this year the competition launches in Portugal.

Those that win a National accolade proceed to the International shortlist and awarding stages, where James Dyson selects his global winners.

What makes a good entry?

The best inventions solve a real-world problem that impacts our planet. They provide clear and intelligent solutions. A successful past winner was Massey University student Rik Olthuis with invention Voronoi Runners, fully biodegradable footwear which addresses the global issue of waste from the footwear industry. The shoe can be easily deconstructed, with every component and material able to be composted at the end of its life.

Rik commented: “Entering the James Dyson Award is a great way to have your ideas and designs evaluated and brought in front of critical eyes, helping with the transition from idea to realistic opportunity. Taking student work and presenting it in a professional light is a difficult step and James Dyson helps bring a sense of support and community in New Zealand’s product design market.”

In his entry to the JDA, Rik had thought about the full lifecycle of his invention - from its material choice and eliminating nasty adhesives, to production via 3D printing and then thinking through what happens to these shoes at the end of life. Nik explained that even sustainable footwear using recycled or biodegradable materials still involve the use of strong adhesives, so he was inspired to design a sneaker using only biodegradable materials with no adhesives.

Success stories

Winning the James Dyson Award can provide awareness that helps to propel problem-solving ideas to commercialisation. For example, mOm Incubators, 2014’s International Winner, have recently supplied more than 60 of its incubators to Ukraine and 2 other countries including the UK. Overall, the company believes it has impacted the lives of more than 1,000 babies and, as they put it, “We would not have reached this position without the James Dyson Award.”

Dan Watson, inventor of SafetyNet Technologies, was 2012’s International winner. SafetyNet is a light that fits onto fishing gear to combat unwanted fish and marine creatures trapped in commercial fishing nets. He founded his company SafetyNet Technologies after winning the Award, delivering pioneering technology and support to build a better, sustainable fishing industry. Alongside high-quality LED lights, SafetyNet Technologies also provide underwater video cameras and ocean sensors to support the fishing industry. “SafetyNet is global now, we work all over the world. We’re starting to lead in the fishing industry”, says Dan.

In 2016, US National runner-up SoaPen, a colourful soap pen for children encouraging safe handwashing, commercialised their invention and were featured on Shark Tank. SoaPen has shipped over 60,000 units of SoaPen across America and are expanding their product portfolio with new SoaPen colours and a body wash pen.

The James Dyson Foundation

The James Dyson Award forms part of a wider commitment by Sir James Dyson, to demonstrate the power of engineers to change the world. The competition has supported 390 inventions with prize money, and is run by the James Dyson Foundation, an engineering-education charity funded by Dyson profits.

The James Dyson Foundation’s work encourages aspiring engineers and problem solvers, to apply their knowledge and discover new ways to improve lives through technology. To date, the Foundation has contributed £140m to boundary-breaking concepts in education and other charitable causes.

Founded in 2002, the James Dyson Foundation supports design, technology and engineering educational work in the UK and internationally in America, Singapore, Philippines and Malaysia. To date, James Dyson and the James Dyson Foundation have donated over £140m to charitable causes, including £12m to Imperial College London to create the Dyson School of Design Engineering, and £8m to Cambridge University to create the Dyson Centre for Engineering Design and the James Dyson Building. $1m Singapore dollars was also donated to the Singapore University of Technology and Design to build the Dyson-SUTD studios, which opened in December. A space for students to work in a multidisciplinary environment, mentored by Dyson engineers, as well as a local space for schools to participate in engineering workshops.

At school level, the James Dyson Foundation offers robotics workshops and provides free educational resources. These include its most recent launch, Engineering Solutions: Air Pollution: introducing young people to air pollution and engineering’s role in finding solutions. The Foundation also supports medical research and the local community in Malmesbury where Dyson’s UK offices are based. This Autumn, the Dyson Cancer Centre at Royal United Hospitals in Bath will open, and the Foundation continues to support the Race Against Dementia Dyson Fellow, Dr Claire Durrant in accelerating finding answers to Alzheimer’s disease.

The Foundation has a website, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube.

Recent past 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.

About the competition

The brief

Design something that solves a problem. This problem may be a frustration that we all face in daily life, or a global issue. The important thing is that the solution is effective and demonstrates considered design thinking.

The process

Entries are judged first at the national level by a panel of external judges and a Dyson engineer. Each operating market awards a National winner and two National runners-up. From these winners, a panel of Dyson engineers then select an international shortlist of 20 entries. The top 20 projects are then reviewed by Sir James Dyson who selects his international winners.

The prize

• International winners, chosen by Sir James Dyson, awarded up to NZ$57,000.
• International runners-up receive NZ$9,500.
• Each National winner receives NZ$9,500.

The deadline to apply: midnight PST on 19 July 2022.

How to enter

Candidates enter through an online application form via the James Dyson Award website. Entrants should explain what their invention is, how it works, and their development process. The best entries solve a real problem, are clearly explained, show iterative development, provide evidence of prototyping and have supporting imagery and a video.

All judges will take into consideration the restrictions to prototyping and product development as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Eligibility criteria

Entrants must be, or have been within the last four years, enrolled for at least one semester in an undergraduate or graduate engineering/design related course. This course must be at a university in a country or region chosen to participate in the James Dyson Award.

In the case of team entries, all members must be or have been within the last four years, enrolled for at least one semester in an undergraduate or graduate programme at a university in a country or region chosen to participate in the James Dyson Award. At least one team member must have studied an eligible subject in engineering or design. Those participating in a degree level apprenticeship at Level 6 or Level 7, and those who have completed said apprenticeship in the past four years, are eligible to enter the award.

Further FAQs can be found on the James Dyson Award website.

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