James Dyson Award heroes International Women in Engineering Day

Shubham & Amanat: We’d encourage young girls to pursue degrees in engineering or design as it’ll get them closer to creating, quite literally, the world that you want to live in. We’d encourage young girls to follow their passions and learn about all the options instead of following stereotypical paths. We didn’t know what Industrial Design was growing up, and following this lesser-known path has allowed us to make our dreams come true.

Agnes: For the world to continue developing new technologies for every industry, we need to continue to educate and encourage the best scientists, engineers and designers. Research shows that females have high levels of empathy. We want future products to be usable, scalable, and attractive for all. It’s essential that we continue to encourage young girls to recognise the rewarding applications of design, both as a craft and strategy to real world situations.

Katherine: When we encourage women into engineering and design, we’ll get new ideas and perspectives that were never thought possible or considered in the past. If you see a young woman in STEM looking to do something different, support them in whatever way you can. It will help encourage more women into this field, and ultimately leadership roles.

Maria: Engineering and design, for me, doesn’t have a gender. Women are known to be observant, meticulous, and creative. I believe that every woman has the power to create better concepts and pioneering technology. It’s only a matter of us believing in ourselves and supporting each other!

Aoife: Over 50 per cent of the global population are women. Yet a much smaller percentage of the engineers or designers in the world are women. A lot of the inventions designed across the world are not actually suitable for half the population. With more women and young girls being involved in early stages of design and engineering, the world will become a much more inclusive, cooperative and functional space.

Solveiga: I was encouraged to apply by someone who saw potential in my idea. I never expected to win the James Dyson Award but it really propelled my business into existence. There can’t be a better sign for someone to apply than that, take it from me!

Katherine: The Award gives young women a voice for their invention and a platform to break into the industry. It gave me the opportunity to pursue Respia full time as a start-up through educating the world about what’s possible for asthma management if you put resources behind it.

Lucy: Crucially the James Dyson Award is uniquely focused on supporting inventions just out of university in the early stages. If you have sketches, initial ideas or prototypes, submit your application – the Award is looking for an idea that solves a problem, not the final product!

Amanat: At university the James Dyson Award was introduced to us in our classes. We were always encouraged to enter by our professors but didn’t think we stood a chance at being recognised, let alone receive a prize. The Award is well respected in the industrial design world, and we’re honoured to be a part of the group of amazing other winners through this Award.

Judit: I was motivated to take The Blue Box from being a prototype to a product people could use.  To progress my at-home biomedical device for breast cancer screening, I needed to improve our algorithm and fully understand the physiology of the female body. Another consideration was whether the design was intuitive and practical enough for the user. The prize money and exposure from winning the James Dyson Award last year gave me a platform to focus and develop answers to these vital questions through further research and development.