The inadequacy of commercially viable innovations being developed to marketable levels and the suppression of creativity and innovation through the educational system has led to the first-ever Inventions Incubation Programme or InnoMech 2009.
\ Organized by the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Moratuwa in collaboration with the Rotary Club of Colombo Reconnections, the Programme comprises of a series of competitions, an exhibition and knowledge dissemination forums and workshops culminating in an exhibition scheduled for 4th and 5th December.
According to the head of the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Moratuwa Dr. R. Perera, University of Moratuwa engineering student and Programme organizer Eshan Perera and Rotarian Tilan Wickramasinghe, one of the main goals of the Programme is to attract the corporate world to secure support for the inventor and provide some free of charge consultancy to corporates for technical problems from university staff and members of the Industrial Technology Institute (ITI). "The purpose of the programme is to establish links between the inventor and the industry," Dr. Perera explained. "It's to go that extra mile and get inventions into a marketable level."
The event was organized mainly targeting today's creative youth, aiming to craft an innovative culture within Sri Lankan society. Investors seeking technical or financial support would benefit and the local industries, especially small and medium enterprises (SME's) will have exposure to new methods and techniques.
The programme will span the entire country, looking for talented Sri Lankans. The preliminaries will go to every single province in search of inventors with diverse backgrounds and will result in competitions at the provincial and national levels. By incubating Sri Lankan inventions for competitive markets, providing assistance in obtaining patents for inventions and innovations, the organizers say Sri Lanka will benefit as more products will be made locally, strengthening industries and creating more employment opportunities.
Inventions that are short listed at the provincial competitions will enter the national competition. All competitions will be evaluated by a panel of judges comprising of University lecturers and industrial experts. The inventions competition will be categorized into seven fields. They are agricultural applications, industrial applications, energy related applications, bio and chemical applications, electronic and electrical applications, household applications and miscellaneous applications.
InnoMech 2009 which will be held at the University's MJF Charitable Foundation Centre premises is open for the general public free of charge.
The competition will consist of two categories, school and open. An expert panel of university lecturers and industrial professionals will be present to guide the inventors through the stream of sciences and engineering. Banks, investors and other financial institutions will also be present to lend deserving and financial aid for inventions. Expert panels will be present to teach the basics of marketing and promotions so investors will have no doubts in entering today's competitive markets with their inventions in hand. |
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