Blackwood Design Awards 2017/18 Now Open!
Blackwood is delighted to officially launch the Blackwood Design Awards 2017/18. This annual competition seeks to discover and champion brilliant new designs, technologies and adaptations that have the potential to help people who have disabilities live life to the full.
A leading housing and care provider throughout Scotland, Blackwood Homes and Care has a well-established history of using innovative technology to help people who have disabilities live life to the fullest.
Past winners include the Human Engineering Research Laboratories at the University of Pittsburgh, with their design for a wheelchair that can go up and down steps. Another previous winner was the low tech but invaluable S’up Spoon by Grant Douglas for eating independently.
Who is this competition for?
Anyone who has a design or product which is innovative and can boost independence and quality of life. This could be an individual or a group project. It could be the work of an academic institution but equally that of a gifted amateur. We see potential everywhere.
Categories
This year’s competition is made up of an unprecedented 4 categories to give every entry the best possible chance. The categories and criteria are as follows:
Category |
Description |
Best collaborative project by a university or institute of higher learning |
Must be the work of two or more people as part of a project at a university or institute of higher learning. |
Best New Concept |
Cannot be commercially available at the time of the competition. Can be a student project or an independent enterprise. |
Best New Accessible Technology |
Must be a piece of digital assistive technology and commercially available at the time of submission. |
Best New Aids and Equipment |
Must be a piece of equipment with a practical application and commercially available at the time of submission. |
Why enter?
The winners in all four categories will receive a trophy as well as considerable publicity for their design. The winners of the 'Best Collaborative Project' and the 'Best New Concept' will each receive £1,000 prize money courtesy of our sponsor, Kingdom Gas. Blackwood and its partners can offer further business and marketing support to popular entries.
How to Enter
You can enter the Blackwood Design Awards clicking here, filling out the entry form and emailing it to bespoken@blackwoodgroup.org.uk no later than 12 noon (GMT) Friday the 30th of March 2018. You should receive an email acknowledging your submission within 3 working days.
Round 1 of shortlisting will be completed by the 27th of April. If your entry is selected as one of the finalists, you will be asked to make a final pitch to our judging panel via Skype or in person (depending on your location) and answer their questions on the 30th of May 2018. This will give you the opportunity to talk about your design in greater detail.
If you are unsure about any aspects of the competition or have any questions, please contact paulr@blackwoodgroup.org.uk.
Good Luck!
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