Today is International Women in Engineering Day: Meet some of the world’s brilliant engineers and inventors

While it isn’t a universal day of celebration and typically shared by those within the industry, today marks International Women In Engineering Day. On this day, the contributions of women in engineering across are recognised and celebrated.

For 2020, the theme for International Women in Engineering Day is #ShapeTheWorld which represents a celebration of how engineers have shaped and continue to shape the world as we know it and their help in making our planet a better, safer and more innovative and exciting place to be. Check out this short video and see just how these engineers have made the world a better place.

Building the future – Words from James Dyson Award 2019 National Winner for Malaysia

Last year, Sara Moi, Malaysia’s national winner 2019 impressed the judges with her innovative yet simple invention dubbed the Eat. Easy that enabled the differently-abled or those suffering from injuries and unable to use both hands to effectively eat food on a plate one-handed. She shared a few words with us just in time with the commencement of the James Dyson Award 2020 competition.

Tell us about yourself and your invention…

I am graduate major in Bachelor of Fine Arts (Hons) Product Design, Universiti Sains Malaysia. As part of my final year project, I conducted a study on “What amputees use to achieve their daily tasks”. Through the research, I was inspired to invent Eat.Easy – a plate defender that helps those facing difficulties eating with one hand. Eat.Easy is made from food grade silicon and easily washable with a single hand. Aside from amputees, Eat.Easy could also be used by stroke sufferers, or multitasking mothers who are concurrently carrying a baby while eating with a single hand.

What advice would you give to future entrants currently working on their applications?

Be creative and keep trying. Design and invention is not a one-step success, but comprises many stages of iterative design and development. Never ignore advice, or ideas that come to mind; they could very well be a solution to solving a real world problem.

What do you think the future holds for invention?

With the ongoing pandemic, health will increasingly be an area of focus for inventors. We’ll see inventions that help improve health and prevent the spread of infectious diseases. The environment is really important as well – so I believe more inventors will design products using environmentally friendly materials and methods.

James Dyson Award 2020 – Open for Entries for Malaysians

If you want to make a difference and have the engineering knowhow or an innovative idea that needs to be shared with the world, you’re in luck as the James Dyson Award is open for entries in Malaysia. To participate, you can check out this video and link here for more details on how to participate.