Innovation award open for WA's brightest

West Australian inventors and innovators are encouraged to submit their nominations for one of Australia's richest innovation competition, the WA Inventor of the Year Award for 2008.

With a prize pool of more than $320,000, the competition offers just over $100,000 to the competition’s overall winner.
 
Now in its third year, the awards aim to help industry, government, academia and schools work collaboratively to foster an environment of innovation, as well as assist the promotion of innovation.
 
Premier Alan Carpenter said the WA Inventor of the Year Award is an important event for our State’s science and innovation-based industries.
 
“The award is a great opportunity for local inventors to receive a helping hand to realise the potential of their ideas,” he said.
 
“We made a conscious decision to make the award program commercially focused and we want to promote a culture of innovation and entrepreneurship across the State.”
 
Mr Carpenter said he was pleased to announce a new category into this year’s competition, the Remote Schools Category. 
 
 “The Remote Schools Category focuses on a whole class rather than individual students,” the Premier said.
 
“The main objective is to encourage school kids to come up with innovative solutions for problems in their own communities.”
 
The other competition categories include:
 
BUSINESS COMPETITION
 
• Early Stage
For entrants who have developed their product or service from an idea, can clearly define the problem it solves, and have some form of intellectual property protection or a rapid route to market to stay ahead of the competition.
 
• Development
For entrants who have developed their product or service to a more advanced stage, with a prototype ready for early market testing.
 
• Ready for Market
For entrants who have developed a product or service which is ready to be licensed, manufactured or marketed, with business and marketing plans finalised.
 
SCHOOLS COMPETITION
 
• Schools
Open to students from Kindergarten to Year 12, encouraging them to invent a new product or device or to modify an existing tool.
 
• Remote Schools
A new category for 2008. This is open to all remote schools in WA, with two $5,000 cash prizes available, one for a junior class (Kindergarten to Year Four) and one for a senior class (Year Four to 12).

The WA Inventor of the Year Award is administered by the Department of Industry and Resources through the WA Innovation Centre at Technology Park in Bentley.
 
More information about the award is available from http://www.doir.wa.gov.au/inventor. 

Nominations close June 12.