The Australian Innovation Challenge 2013 is now open

The quest for the nation’s best ideas - in fields from minerals and energy to community services - resumes today through the $70,000 The Australian Innovation Challenge awards.

The awards are run by The Australian in association with Shell and are supported by Innovation Australia. They aim to drive breakthroughs to commercialisation or adoption, attracting high-calibre entries from scientists, engineers, technologists, educators, entrepreneurs, innovators in community services and creative geniuses inventing in their backyard sheds.

The Australian’s editor, Clive Mathieson, said the newspaper was delighted to bring the third annual Innovation Challenge to life.

“In the past two years, we have unearthed some incredible inventions, most of which are now closer to commercialisation thanks to the profile and prize money offered by The Australian Innovation Challenge. This is what the challenge is all about,” he said. “This year, we are confident of discovering another batch of hidden gems that could one day change the way we live our lives.”

Innovation policy expert and former CSIRO deputy chairman Dr Terry Cutler is heading a panel of eminent Australians judging the awards. He said innovation is an expression of hope - “hope that it is possible to envision a different world, a better place, and to instigate change to make that happen”.

Innovation Australia chair David Miles said innovation is “a driver of Australian productivity, business growth and employment”. Innovation Australia is thus proud to support the awards program, “helping people with ideas and investors with commitment to move ideas and concepts from the drawing board to market”.

The awards, which are open to individuals and teams, have seven professional categories, each carrying a prize of $5000. The overall winner of the professional categories will receive a further $25,000. An eighth category, Backyard Innovation, is open to the public and has a $10,000 prize.

The categories are:

• minerals and energy
• environment, agriculture and food
• education
• health
• ICT
• manufacturing and hi-tech design
• community services
• backyard innovation

Professor Veena Sahajwalla, of the University of NSW, won the overall prize in the professional categories last year for ‘green’ steelmaking - a process that transforms old tyres into a raw material for use in electric arc furnace steelmaking. Victorian inventor Frank Will won the Backyard Innovation prize for OVER7, a system to cut fuel consumption in cars.

Entries are open until 26 August 2013 at www.theaustralian.com.au/innovationchallenge.