Bright Sparks Awards igniting young kiwi inventors

Smart teenagers across NZ are sending in their technology inventions for this yearís ETITO Bright Sparks Awards.
The 11th annual awards will shine the spotlight on the next generation of engineers and technology developers. The Bright Sparks Awards were launched by ETITO, the industry training organisation for the electrotechnology and telecommunications sector, to encourage young people to experience electronics directly through a project-based approach. 
Students begin with an idea for an invention in the electronics field. After developing and refining their invention, they then build a prototype and enter it into the competition.
Many inventions are solutions to everyday challenges the students encounter in their family and school lives. Last year, entries included a patrolling robot guard-dog, a fully-functional wind-turbine crafted from an old washing machine, and a sign language computer keyboard.
Ross Petersen, manager of ETITO’s In Schools Programme, which includes Bright Sparks, says this year’s entries are shaping up as exciting and fascinating as ever.
“It is very heartening for NZ, and particularly our innovation sector, that we continue to be growing and developing young inventors. The Bright Sparks Awards are often the place young people get inspired to seriously consider studying technology-related subjects and then go on to careers in the area.
“Many of our Bright Sparks go on to place well on the world stage in other science and technology competitions and to make their mark in technology companies in NZ and further afield such as Silicon Valley in the US.”
The competition is open to students aged between 11 and 18. A judging panel of industry experts determines finalists which will be posted on the Bright Sparks website.
This is a chance for students to show off their inventions to a worldwide audience, and an opportunity for those in the industry to see what’s coming up from the country’s brightest young engineers. NZers also get the chance to vote online for the People’s Choice Award.
Winners will be announced on Tuesday 1st November 2011. The overall winner will receive the ETITO – Baldwins Intellectual Property Young Inventor of the Year award, which includes a $600 prize and the opportunity to be mentored throughout their first year of tertiary study by one of the firm’s patent attorneys.
For information about the Bright Sparks Programme and Awards visit www.brightsparks.org.nz