Northern Ireland’s premier awards programme for inventors is calling on innovators from the agri-science industry to enter this year’s competition ahead of the deadline at 5:00pm tonight.

The Invent 2018 Awards – which are run by Connect at Catalyst Inc – aim to find Northern Ireland’s next breakthrough invention that has the greatest commercial potential while inspiring and mentoring up-and-coming inventors.

Once shortlisted, finalists will take part in several rounds of pitches to compete for a share of the £33,000 prize fund. Winners will be announced at the final on Thursday, October 11, 2018 in the Belfast Waterfront Conference Centre.

The agri-science category is open to those innovating to meet the needs of a dynamic market place in areas such as crop nutrition, plant and animal health, farm safety, sustainable agriculture and smart farming.

Previous section winners include:

  • DipFast – an enclosed sheep showering unit developed by Oran Oak Engineering focussed on safeguarding operators, animal welfare and generating cost savings; and
  • KegoMatic – a solution which creates operational efficiencies by allowing multiple kegs to be tapped at once and switches the line automatically when a keg runs out.

Calling on entries to this year’s awards, Sinead Dillon, principal consultant at category sponsor Fujitsu, said: “Northern Ireland’s agri-science sector is a strong one and we want to continue to nurture and inspire up-and-coming innovators through programmes such as this.

“If you have a concept, business model or invention that is supporting the sector by tackling important issues such as supply, security and health issues then we recommend entering this year’s Invent Awards.

“Aside from the overall prize, you can avail of great mentoring, pitch practice and networking opportunities alongside some of Northern Ireland’s most promising inventors.”