Benefit to society

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is calling for entries for its Innovation and Engineering Awards, which form part of the IKB Awards, a series of nationwide competitions to mark the bicentenary of the birth of the Victorian engineer Isambard Kingdom Brunel, the University’s namesake and the 40th anniversary of the University’s Royal Charter, in 2006.

With four separate awards for Engineering, Innovation, Entrepreneurship and Young Companies, the IKB Awards offer an opportunity for young people to take their ideas to the next level.

The awards will showcase science, engineering and technology innovation, rewarding those who come up with ideas to benefit society or improve the modern world.

The competition offers more than cash prizes and a winning title – it will provide winners with mentoring and advice on how to develop their ideas from conception to commercialisation.

In addition, all winners will be invited to a prestigious black-tie awards dinner at the Science Museum, London, in April, 2006.

Entries for all four of the following categories must be submitted by 31 October, 2005. These are:

Engineering Award – 14-18 year olds/19-25 year olds

Theme: “Thinking about the future, and using engineering principles, devise something that could make a change to the modern world.”

Innovation Award – 14-18 year olds/19 – 25 year olds

Theme: “Devise a product to solve an everyday problem”

Prize: £1,000 cash per age group plus £1,000 of consultancy

Entrepreneurship Award – 16-25 year olds

Theme: Show how you would put a business together, to not only make money but also to benefit society

Prize: £1,000 cash, plus £1,000 of consultancy

Young Companies Award – 18-35 year olds

Theme: Awarded to a (UK) business founded in the last five years, which has provided innovative solutions to benefit society in some way.

Prize: £2,000 cash plus £1,000 of PR consultancy

BBC Top Gear presenter and Brunel University Honorary Graduate, Jeremy Clarkson, said: “‘Isambard Kingdom Brunel was quite simply audacious, brave and brilliant! Wouldn’t it be fantastic if this competition could find a genius like Brunel for the 21st century?”

The awards are being organised by Brunel University in association with ideas21. Individual award sponsors include: IMechE, Specialist Schools Trust, IMI Vision, Close Venture Management, and IEE.