What an economy in trouble needs is ideas. Ideas can lead to intellectual property, and intellectual property in turn, can generate enough activity to kick-start the economy. Whether you view Ireland as a nation of problem-solvers or a country full of dreamers, the evidence suggests that in one area at least, we are punching above our weight.

The James Dyson Awards are now in their 10th year, and the prize fund has been increased to €120,000 in recognition of the fact that design engineers may have increased costs in developing their ideas.

Irish entrants to the competition have a good track record with the Dyson awards. In the past nine years, inventions devised by Irish students have made it into the top 15 in the world on numerous occasions, and in last year’s semi-finals, three Irish entries made the shortlist.

James Dyson himself has commented on the quality of the entries from the country, saying there is a disproportionately high number that have caught his attention. But the first winner of the Irish competition was Patrick Moloney, now a senior engineer with the company. Moloney's winning entry was the concept anti-atrophy casting, which was designed to minimise the loss of muscle experienced by fracture patients.

“When your arm or leg is in a cast, you suffer quite a lot of muscle atrophy and wastage,” he explains. “The problem with that is when the cast comes off you need a lot of extra therapies but also it takes some time to build that bulk back up.

“On top of that, if you manage to lose all this muscle, suddenly the case that was wrapped around the limb to start off with is no longer giving the same level of support to the limb.”

Moloney's method looked at a mass produced solution that would not only support the limb but also allow you access to the skin where you could stimulate the muscle and get the blood flowing, and keep the muscle bulk. It was enough to win him the top prize, and he is hoping to encourage others to follow in his footsteps.

Working with Dyson
Originally hailing from Kilkenny, Moloney has worked with Dyson for a decade. Now based at Dyson's headquarters in Malmesbury in the UK, he returned to Ireland last week to speak to students at Dublin City University, Trinity College Dublin and the National College of Art and Design.

“Whether people are interested in Dyson or not, Dyson as a brand is recognised all over the world,” he said. “The James Dyson award is quite prestigious now and a lot of people follow it. It’s a great opportunity for people to get exposure all around the world.”

Winning the award is not just about exposure; the doubling of the prize fund means it can give aspiring inventors a serious boost, and make a real difference to their careers.

Moloney is not the only one to find the Dyson effect has led to better things. In 2009, Noel Joyce won the all-Ireland award for a lightweight ergonomic wheelchair braking system; he has since gone on to invent a range of vertical gardening products that have proven successful.

The workshops held in Ireland in recent days have been a success, Moloney said.

“What it’s telling me is the ideas are here in abundance. We got a great response. There’s some very talented people studying here,” Moloney said. “I think Irish people are particularly good problem solvers. We’ve been faced with various tough decisions over the years.”

However, he noted that the problem appears to lie in getting some of the ideas into production, or capitalising on the idea. "Maybe our aspirations are too low."

School revamp
James Dyson has long been calling for a revamp of the school curriculum to become more modern and relevant, with the aim of bringing a love of invention, science and design to create the next generation of engineers. Once that has been taken care of, real experience is also important.

“On a personal level, I hope we always recognise industry experience as well as academia. I think there’s a happy medium,” said Moloney. “We have to be careful that the graduates we produce, while they obviously have the technical knowledge, that thy are practical and can see their ideas right through into something tangible that they can actually sell.”

For those who may wish to follow a career as an inventor, it takes tenacity and an innate need to question things.

“We’re well aware of some of the issues that we’re facing in the future. We’ve got to do more with less. Some of the materials are becoming more scarce, there’s more people, there’s more mouths to feed; there’s lots of challenges ahead,” he said.

“I think now more than ever the economy needs ideas; we need to patent the technology, we need to sell it abroad. It’s probably never been a better time to be an engineer.”