James Dyson Award: a springboard for those who don’t want to give up

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Imagine you are a young product designer. Or an equally young engineer.
You are graduating but you already have an idea. In fact, a project is taking shape in your head which, in your opinion, will be able to improve the world, at least a little.
What do you do? How do you turn an idea into reality? How do you start a startup? How do you make yourself known?

This is where the James Dyson Award.

What is the James Dyson Award?

To simplify we could define the James Dyson Award a competition.
Every year engineers and product designers, undergraduates or recent graduates, challenge each other by proposing a project that can address a daily or global problemfrom environmental issues to the improvement of medical devices.

Up for grabs 34,000 euros for the world winnerstogether with great visibility, and 5,700 euros for the national winners.

The James Dyson Award can be then an incredible launch showcase, a showcase that to this day rewarded 390 inventions, with over 70% of global winners actually marketing their inventions.

“We are looking for young engineers who are ready to solve problems in a sustainable way, using less energy and materials, and who want to improve the world through their ideas. Young people have ideas that can change things for the better and for this they should be encouraged. The James Dyson Award gives them the chance to take their inventions further and I can’t wait to judge this year’s nominations“, has explained Sir James Dyson in person.

Just the beginning

But the James Dyson Award is just the beginning.
They were the ones who told it Judit Giró Benet and Jerry de Vostwo former winners of the prestigious award, during a very interesting virtual round table.

The Benet is the creator of The Blue Boxa medical device that uses non-invasive systems for detect breast cancer. All you need is a urine sample. The machinery takes care of the rest. Or rather, the software inside that it is based on artificial intelligence.
In fact, The Blue Box required the entry of a flood of data to be able to train the AI ​​​​in order to obtain accurate diagnoses, also because making a mistake can put people’s lives at risk.
And this, said Judit Giró Benet, is just one of the challenges she had to face.
In fact, having the right idea is not enough, you have to find it the right way to develop and present it. You need to succeed keep patient data safe, so as to prevent it from being stolen or shared without consent.

The winner of the 2020 James Dyson Award also highlighted how it is it is essential to know the current technology and learn how to use it but also how vital it is the contribution of other people.

Jerry deVos instead, he is the inventor of a low-cost handheld device for the identification of the plastic to be recycled. A device that responds to a problem – the environmental one – now central to our lives.
However, you shouldn’t be in a hurry to bring your product to market. You have to make sure it works first. De Vos then highlights the importance of experimentation, an experimentation that in his case was possible thanks to the investors which he was able to meet after winning the James Dyson Award in 2021.
Crucial to Jerry de Vos too the knowledge network: nnot only to raise funds but also to get tips and advice on how to improve your idea.

Both former winners finally agree on one thing: you must never give up. Persistence is one of the most important elements in succeeding, in turning an idea into a commercial product that can, potentially, change people’s lives.

Do you have an idea? It’s time to apply!

Do you also have a project in your drawer that you want to turn into reality?
Know that Nominations are open for the 19th James Dyson Award.

The James Dyson Award is open to undergraduate product design, industrial design or engineering students and those who have completed a degree in those disciplines within the last 4 years.
To apply, all you have to do is register on the official site.
You have time until midnight on July 19, 2023.

Entries will first be evaluated nationally by an external judging panel and a Dyson engineer. Each operating market will award one national winner and two national finalists. Among these winners, a judging panel of Dyson engineers will select an international shortlist of 20 projects which they will then submit to Sir James Dyson who will select the international winners.

If you think you have the right idea, go ahead!