Search for UAE’s most gifted young inventors

• Innovations By You Awards to launch at big boys toys 2012; open to all UAE students of higher educational institutions
• More than half a million dirhams in cash prizes and financial aid
• Numerous universities, including Zayed University, AUD, Manipal, Preston, and Middlesex have come onboard, extending this opportunity to their students

A new open competition, the Innovation by You Awards is giving UAE students the opportunity of a lifetime to design, fabricate, test, and show their own inventions and innovations was launched today by Big Boys Toys organizer, Artaaj. With many institutions, such as Zayed University, American University of Dubai (AUD), and Manipal University, showing keen interest and support, students from any UAE university-level colleges/institutions will have the opportunity to earn cash prizes, rewards, recognition and find potential investors for their projects. In person registration to the IBY Awards will be available at Big Boys Toys, the region’s premier lifestyle event, on 10 and 11 February 2012, days of general admission, at Atlantis The Palm, Dubai. Three winners will receive lucrative cash prizes: a grand prize of AED 200,000 will be awarded to the first winner, AED 100,000 for second place, and AED 50,000 for the third.

The Chief Executive Officer of Artaaj Events, Biju Jayaraaj, said, “We are targeting students as they have an incredible opportunity to learn, experiment, and to think outside the box. Furthermore, research and innovation are at a very promising stage in this region of the world and we aim to fill a gap in giving the drive and the means to gifted students to first reach out, discover their own potential and to realize their dreams.”
“Every year, we see a wide range of unique products at Big Boys Toys. This year, we wanted to extend the opportunity to the local talent to have their ideas come to life and be part of the next edition of the show,” added Biju Jayaraaj.

True to the Big Boys Toys, the IBY Awards will be based on categories that are featured at the show. Submissions to the IBY Awards will have to fall under one of seven categories: Ride and Drive (includes all land-based transportation), Lifestyle, Marine, Digital, Aviation, Wellness, and Fashion. Students who are keen on taking on this challenge are encouraged to pass by the show to take the opportunity to get a glimpse at the kind of products they could aspire to design and deliver themselves. They can also register on the spot for the competition.

Admission to the IBY Awards is free, and is open to legal residents of the United Arab Emirates, who are enrolled as full-time or part-time students in a higher educational institution in the UAE. Individual applicants or teams of up to 4 people, belonging to the same institution, are allowed to submit their original invention or innovation. The submissions must be tangible and capable of being prototyped, and students are encouraged to submit their graduation projects.

Online registration will be available on www.bigboystoysuae.com/IBY between February 12th and March 25th, 2012. Once registered, applicants will be asked to submit a comprehensive proposal of their invention or innovation by June 10th, 2012. The shortlisted students will then be asked to produce a prototype. Deserving students, who can demonstrate need for financial support, will be given financial aid to help complete their prototypes. Seven finalists will then be selected by the Judging Panel, and their submissions will be showcased at Big Boys Toys 2013. The three winners will be announced during the Big Boys Toys 2013 show in February and will receive their cash prizes and have a great chance of attracting potential investors.

Shortlisted applicants will have to fill out an anonymous survey, based on which, the three most supportive universities will be selected to receive the IBY Honorary Awards for Nurturing Innovations, which will be distributed during an awards ceremony to be held concurrent with Big Boys Toys 2013.

Big Boys Toys 2012 will take place on February 9th, 10th, and 11th, 2012 and is open daily 1pm-10pm. General admission tickets for February 10th and 11th are now available for purchase online from Time Out Tickets, Virgin Tickets, BoxOfficeME.com and TicketingCo.com. Tickets can also be purchased at the following outlets: Virgin Megastores, select EPPCO and ENOC petrol stations, as well as select Zoom, Choithrams, Hallmark and Spinneys.