Garage calls inventors

The City of Tshwane is partnering with the 6th Innovation Summit and will host the Inventors Garage in an endeavour to ignite excellence through inventions that can be further developed and implemented to enhance the quality of life for people in Tshwane.

Inventors, start revving up your engines in order to enter the Inventors’ Garage Competition which will bring an exciting competitive edge to this year’s 6th Annual SA Innovation Summit taking place at the Industrial Development Corporation in Sandton from August 27-29.

During his State of the City Address 2013, Executive Mayor, Cllr Kgosientso Ramokgopa announced that the City will commit R2 million to Innovation Hub to create a platform for communities, particularly the youth of Tshwane to identify and develop smart solutions to challenges facing the City. ‚”This partnership will also provide support to those who submit ideas that are implementable: to us innovation is not just about creative ideas but the implementation of creative ideas to transform the manner in which service provision occurs within Tshwane‚”, he said.

All you need to do to participate in this contest is to send a photo of your invention/discovery/design/creation/model/prototype along with a 150-word description to http://innovationsummit.co.za/2013/inventors-garage-competition and you’ll be in the running to have your entry considered by the judges.

Importantly, the ten best competition entries will be displayed in the Sparklab exhibition area during the three days of the summit, which attracts a wide range of people committed to taking innovation in South Africa to a higher and more sustainable level.

The judges, who comprise funders and incubators, are looking for entries that combine originality with practicality and realistic commercial potential. Votes will take place directly through the www.innovationsummit.co.za website this year and not through likes on Facebook.

This year’s Inventors’ Garage Competition is essentially the first of its kind to be staged as part of the SA Innovation Summit and promises to unveil some fantastic new invention prospects. It succeeds the SA innovation Summit Lab Competition which was introduced last year.

Last year’s competition winner was Abel Chetty with TUGO, a toy concept that combines play and education features. Second prize went to Bill Hadlow with Khaya Power, featuring power in a bottle, and third prize went to Donald Gray for the Riksa Mini Excavator. The prize for the most votes on Facebook went to Bruce Dube for Youth Village.

‚”We’re looking forward to receiving some fantastic entries for the new competition which is a great way of enticing people to have their inventions and ideas judged by people who have a good feel for what it takes for success to be achieved,‚” said Dr Audrey Verhaeghe the CEO of the Research Institute for Innovation and Sustainability (RIIS).

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