20 of the best young inventions selected by Dyson engineers, as the James Dyson Award announces global finalists.

Today marks the beginning of the international stages of the James Dyson Award 2022 as the global Shortlist of 20 pioneering inventions has been announced. All have the chance to become a global winner and receive £30,000 to support the next stages of their inventions. 

In September, the Award announced its national winners and runners-up, across 29 countries and regions. From at-home intravenous therapies to stroke rehabilitation devices – the James Dyson Award uncovers the brightest minds of the next generation.

Now, 15 Dyson engineers, scientists and designers from around the world have reviewed the 87 James Dyson Award National finalists to select this year’s global Top 20 Shortlist of inventions.

Students and young engineers around the world continue to prove that invention never stops; they have the capability to solve the world’s most difficult problems. The James Dyson Award Top 20 Shortlist inventions are designed to solve global issues head-on with unique solutions. Whether that is a floating barrier to guide plastic waste in rivers or a breast health monitoring device, these ideas have global resonance and potential.

“Reading through all the entries and seeing the amazing amount of hard work and effort was a real privilege. Debating with my colleagues on who should make the Top 20 Shortlist was an enjoyable process – the diversity across the panel led to some insightful conversations.” Lucy Harden, Design Manager at Dyson

At Dyson, we believe great ideas come from diversity of thought and experience. Our judges represent the wide range of knowledge and expertise within Dyson’s global Research, Design and Development teams. They specialise across a broad range of engineering fields including Sustainability, Medicine, Software, Technical Design and Agriculture. They were joined by high-performing Undergraduate engineers from the Dyson Institute of Engineering Technology to share their insight, challenging conventional design processes.

“It’s always fascinating to see the range of challenges from around the world, particularly ones that highlight problems that I wasn’t previously aware of. It is great when entrants from different places hone in on similar problems but take very different approaches to solving them. The diversity of thought every year keeps the James Dyson Award exciting.” Kay Yeong, Principal Engineer at Dyson

The panel analysed, debated and reviewed all the national finalists, coming together virtually to collaborate and whittle down the entries to the Top 20 Shortlist. 

Stay tuned for 16 November 2022 when Sir James Dyson will announce the global winners of the James Dyson Award.

Read more about 2021’s International winners here.