The James Dyson Foundation Opens Global Doors to Inspire and Engage Engineering Students

Perilous city cycling. Communicating with the deaf. Filtering contaminated water. These are a few of the issues students have tackled in the U.S. "Eye for Why," student design competition run by the James Dyson Foundation.

Beginning in 2009, "Eye for Why," along with 20 other regional student design competitions will be rolled into a larger and more challenging global competition: The James Dyson Award.

The revamped James Dyson Award is run by the James Dyson Foundation in collaboration with universities worldwide.

From October 2008 through June 2009, students and their universities are encouraged to submit entries for the chance to win a total prize of £10,000.

Entrants will submit footage, images and sketches of their ideas to an interactive website along with stories detailing their design process and inspiration.

There are no limits regarding the scale or potential of the inventions submitted.

Previous entries include an electronic guide dog, a solar powered reef boat and a hydration vest for athletes.

To drive support for engineering and bring attention to the importance of good design, the Foundation has started a unique "People's Choice" vote in each of the 21 countries.

Beginning June 2009 the American public will have the opportunity to choose their favorite local invention as a wild card to move on to the finals.