FINAL COMPETITION OF THE JUNIOR INVENTOR OF THE YEAR 2008

  The Final competition to select the most creative and adroit “Junior Inventor” of the year 2008 will be held at the Institution of Engineers, Sri Lanka on the 04th October 2008 under the patronage of the Minister of Education Hon. Susil Premajayantha.

The President of the Institution of Engineers, Sri Lanka, Eng. Ranjith Gunawardena, President Elect Eng. D P Mallawaratchi and the Chief Organizer of the JIY competition Eng. J Meegoda will also be present at the event where 50 young competitors will vie for the coveted title.

The Junior Inventor of the Year competition is organized by the Institution of Engineers, Sri Lanka, for the 23rd consecutive time, this year. The competition which commenced with the objective of promoting science and mathematics education and usage of technology among the school goers has provided the youngsters of this country the much required forum to display their ingenuity.

Previous competitions have proved that despite the fact that Sri Lanka is lagging behind in terms of technological know how compared to developed countries in the world, the young generation is capable of and interested in creating products that are highly technical and of high utility value. Some of the creations that have won prizes during the previous years have obtained patent rights to manufacture them commercially.

The 50 competitors, who are competing for the prestigious title of “Junior Inventor of the Year” in 2008, were selected from a large number of applicants who sought to compete for the title. Unlike in most competitions, all applicants were given the opportunity of presenting their inventions for primary evaluations that were held in their own regions. Primary evaluations were held in Ratnapura, Kurunegala, Anuradhapura and Colombo.

Prior to primary evaluations, the organizers conducted a mentoring session for all the applicants. At this session, each applicant was individually guided by professional engineers on techniques to improve their novel inventions.

The winner of the title will get the opportunity of competing at the International Science and Engineering Fair held in the United States every year. Intel Ltd, along with the National Science Foundation and the Ministry of Education facilitate the winner’s trip to the US.

In addition to this unique prize, gold, silver and bronze medals will be awarded for the first three places with cash rewards.