Origin Energy is searching for the Riverina’s next big young inventor as part of their littleBIGidea competition.
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The competition is open to all kids from grades three to eight and the winner will receive a trip to NASA in the USA.
It is about “fostering creativity and innovation” within young minds, according to Stuart Osbourne from littleBIGideas
“We forget that kids are naturally creative and curious,” he said.
“Our kids are the leaders of tomorrow and we want to encourage them to come up with a big idea.”
The top 12 ideas will win their creator a cash prize, participation in a design workshop, and support from an industry mentor to help further develop their idea,
“We’re going to run a workshop with (the kids) to help them further their ideas,” Mr Osbourne said.
“The whole idea came from our concept of having something that was really inspirational for young people.
“The whole concept of space travel and NASA is so cutting edge and it’s about opening their eyes earlier to opportunities they think they wouldn’t have.”
Dr Jordan Nguyen is the brain behind the idea of the competition and is the inventor of the world’s first mind-controlled wheel chair.
He will bring his humanitarian engineering experience to the competition that has already produced a number of patented and mass-produced inventions.
“I am passionate about encouraging creativity and innovation from an early age to move towards being the great problem solvers of our future,” he said.
“I’m excited to be involved with a competition that champions young Australians, providing them with opportunities to succeed and realise their own potential.”
The competition had over 1000 entries last year and Mr Osbourne has a few top-tips for creative thinking:
- Tip one: Look for things that could be better
- Tip two: Look for things that are annoying
- Tip three: Think about who will use it
- Tip four: Experiment
“There was standout entry that I remember,” Mr Osbourne said.
“A young girl won the national award for a band aid dispenser.
“She had been in and out of hospital and had seen the nurses struggled to open some of the band aid packets.
“She made a sticky-tape like dispenser for the band aids which we’re looking at getting into other hospitals.”
Organisers are looking for kids to identify the problem they're trying to solve, then figure out a solution to make that better.
“It’s good to have context about how they came up with that idea,” Mr Osbourne said.
“The scope is pretty broad. If it can improve other people’s lives then it’s certainly worth entering.”
Applications are open until September 15 on the littleBIGideas website.