A moment of ingenuity could transform the world

Nottingham – the home of the rebel, the disruptor, the innovator. And the home of Ingenuity19, our annual innovation competition. Since its launch in 2015 it has had over 1,000 participants, awarded over £350,000 in prize money, and reached a global audience.

It gives anyone the opportunity to develop a life-changing, transformative idea. Think like Dragon’s Den, but fewer dragons. Previous lightbulb moments have included a campaign to reduce single waste plastics on campus, an automated external defibrillator and books which start in English and end in a different language, by gradually introducing foreign words.

This year the goalposts have been shifted slightly, with two major issues under consideration for budding entrepreneurs:

Powering Communities 

How can we enable greater economic activity and opportunity in low-income communities in Nottingham? How can new and innovative community-based enterprises achieve this?

Powering the future 

How does technology enable interaction? How do we prepare for the emerging role of artificial intelligence, machine learning and the Internet of Things? And how will future societies function with these technologies?

If your idea makes the cut you’ll go on to pitch it to our judges, and be in for a chance to win part of the £150k+ prize fund. In the background, there will be social and commercial investors looking for the next big opportunity to drive innovation and change.

But the questions is how? We’ve all dreamt of that life-changing brainwave moment which will makes us millionaires, but only the select few ever get to see it become a reality. To give you a bit of an edge we’ve pulled together a few insights from some experts in their field:

Trishna Daswaney, Founder of Kohl Kreatives: "I’ve taken part in Ingenuity every year. Ingenuity18 was the first time I won a prize, and since then my products have been stocked in Boots, and I’ve been able to reach even more people through my charity Kohl Kares.”

Louise Maynard-Atem, Innovation Specialist, Data Exchange, Experian: "In my experience, the best ideas tend to come about when lots of brilliant minds come together to think about the same problem. I also think it’s vitally important for people to share information and best practise with one another, and it is only through bringing different parties together that we can foster true collaboration and start to solve the really big societal issues.”

If you register for Ingenuity19 you have the opportunity to attend two inspirational weekend summits (Future Communities Summit and the Future Technology Summit) featuring a number of amazing speakers and four dynamic ideas generation events, as well as a six-week enterprise skills programme which takes your idea through to business plan.

All alumni qualify for a University Of Nottingham bursary which covers the full cost of registration – so what are you waiting for? Sign up at nottingham.ac.uk/ingenuity19/register