James Dyson Award 2026

James Dyson Award 2026 is now open for entries!

The James Dyson Foundation recently has opened entries for its James Dyson Award 2026, annual international student design award and competition that celebrates, encourages and inspires the next generation of design engineers.

Short description

The James Dyson Award 2026 now is open for entries! This is an international design award that celebrates, encourages and inspires the next generation of design engineers.

Open to current and recent design engineering students, this competition is run by the James Dyson Foundation , an international charity dedicated to encouraging young people to realize their engineering potential.

The James Dyson Award is your chance to make a name for yourself as an inventor. As well as winning a significant cash prize, you could generate media exposure to kick-start your career, earn the esteem of your peers – and perhaps gain the confidence to launch your own business.

The brief is broad. Organizer is looking for designers who think differently, to create products that work better. This year the James Dyson will also looking for entries that address a sustainability issue, or have been designed, sourced or manufactured sustainably.

You can enter as many projects as you want, and you are encouraged to enter your design even if it’s at the latter stage of the design process or is already on the market. At all times, the intellectual property in relation to the project will remain the entrant’s.

As well as proving your project’s technical viability, organiser wouldlike to see that it’s commercially viable, too – so include any research you’ve done into manufacturing costs and retail prices.

Projects will be judged on the strength of the entry, not just the invention itself. You’ll need to communicate the significance of your invention, but also how the product was developed and how you reached your final design. Demonstrating an iterative, trial-and-error approach will serve you well.

Shortlisted entries will be reviewed by national judging panels of design and engineering experts, including Dyson engineers.

Sir James Dyson will select (at his discretion) the international JDA winner, the international JDA runners-up and the sustainability winner.

Who may enter?

The James Dyson Award is open to current university students of engineering, product design and industrial design – and those who have graduated in these subjects in the last four years. Oganiser will also ask to see official documentation that proves it.

If you don't want to work alone, or if you studied something else but have a brilliant idea you want to share, you can still enter as part of a team.

Prize:

National winners will receive $6,500 and a chance to progress to the international stage. Sir James Dyson will select global winners to receive $40,000 and a platform to take their inventions to the next level.