The 2008 Innovation & Design Excellence Awards (iDEAs) are now open for entries. They are organised by Cranfield School of Management, and the magazines Eureka and New Electronics.

The awards recognise the vital role played by design engineers in the product development process – in both mechanical and electronics engineering. They recognise companies that show problem-solving ability and a willingness to take risks – and products that are proven to be commercially successful.

In short, they reward innovation within the design process.

There are seven Award Categories – in disciplines such as cycle time reduction, product innovation and ‘green’ innovation – plus an overall winner.

If your company has developed a successful, innovative product – or helped a client to do so – then you could benefit from entering these awards. You can read more about winners from 2006 and 2007. In each case, a downloadable awards brochure has full write-ups of all the winners.

The awards are unique among engineering and manufacturing awards because winners are chosen on the basis of a rigorous one-day audit visit. Entrants begin by completing an entry form – but the audit visit is where winners are chosen.

Past entrants have cited the audit visit as the key benefit to them – whether or not they end up as an overall winner. Audit judges include Dr Marek Szwejczewski of Cranfield, and Eureka’s editor Lou Reade.

Entrants can be from any size of company, and from any industry. Past award winners include a chip designer, a manufacturer of prosthetic limbs, a packaging company and a developer of infrared cameras. One winner was a multi-national manufacturer of valve actuators; another was a specialist design company with just 11 employees.

An award luncheon will be held at the Royal Lancaster Hotel in London on Friday 19 September. This is where all the awards will be made – including the coveted Innovator of the Year. If you make it through to this stage, it is an ideal event to reward your design team’s hard work.

To receive an entry forms, please contact Maggie Bridge (m.bridge@cranfield.ac.uk) of Cranfield School of Management on 01234 754498.