Cracking Ideas amongst UK’s young people
Innovative young people from England, Wales and Scotland have been awarded national prizes in the Cracking Ideas 2013-14 competition.
Three innovative young people from England, Wales and Scotland have been awarded national prizes in the Cracking Ideas 2013-14 competition at a ceremony held at the M Shed Bristol today (19 June 2014). The competition is run by the Intellectual Property Office and Aardman Animations, creators of Wallace and Gromit.
This year’s competition required pupils to devise a food related gadget or come up with a taste, highlighting the intellectual property attached. This included a new gadget or product (patents), the visual appearance of said product (designs), a brand or logo to accompany the idea (trade marks) and any other creative elements (copyright) such as a catchy jingle.
The UK winners are:
Age 4 to 7 years category – Poppy Westhorpe, South East England
Poppy invented the ‘Magic Spray’ to make her sister eat healthier food. The magic spray makes ‘all the bad tastes of vegetables’ disappear.
Age 8 to 11 years category – Isaac Fender, South Wales
Isaac invented the amazing ‘Waste No More Good Machine’ which allows you to store the best before dates of all the food you buy, alerting you what needs to be used up to reduce the volume of food going to waste.
Age 12 to 16 years category - Emma Ann Eales, South-East Scotland
Emma invented the ‘SciCook’ which makes whatever food you want. By linking your Apple or Android device, you can keep up to date on the progress of your food on the go. It also recognises the scientific aspect of your food.
The worthy winners fought off tough competition from over 4,000 entrants and were each presented with an original trophy created by Aardman Animation studio and animation software.
Lord Younger, Minister for Intellectual Property said:
I was hugely impressed by all of the cracking ideas entered in to this year’s competition. They speak volumes about the ingenuity and talent of all the entrants. We must actively support this kind of creativity and help young people translate their ideas into brilliant inventions. It is key that we educate them in how to protect and make the most of their creations.
I congratulate the winners today on their outstanding effort and I am sure that they can look forward to bright futures.
Merlin Crossingham, Creative Director at Aardman Animations said:
I thought I’d seen it all but yet again there are some ingenious inventions in the finalists. I’m really glad to see the creative juices are still flowing. Long may it continue!
The competition is part of the Intellectual Property Office’s Cracking Ideas campaign headed by Wallace and Gromit, which aims to encourage innovation amongst school children.
Notes for editors
- For photographs of the day, or interview opportunities please email ideas@crackingideas.com or telephone 01633 814152.
- Cracking Ideas is a government-backed project and uses a combination of lesson plans, activity packs, challenges and dedicated website, to encourage innovation and creativity amongst children aged 4 to 16 years all with links to the UK curriculum.
- The Intellectual Property Office (IPO) is an executive agency of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) and is responsible for the national framework of intellectual property rights, comprising patents, designs, trade marks and copyright.
- The IPO’s role is to help manage an intellectual property system that encourages innovation and creativity, balances the needs of consumers and users, promotes strong and competitive markets and is the foundation of the knowledge-based economy.
- The IPO operates in a national and an international environment and its work is governed by national and international law, including various international treaties relating to intellectual property to which the United Kingdom is a party.