Dalton—Shaw Industries said it is encouraging students to conceptualize the Future of Home through its sponsorship of the 2021 Bright Spark Virtual Invention Challenge.
Shaw partnered with Bridge Innovate, Industrial Designers Society of America (IDSA) and the Design Foundation to sponsor the contest, which poses the question: “How might we enable the homes of the future to be smarter and more sustainable to meet the ever-changing needs of families?”
Working individually or on a team, students are tasked to identify a real-world need and design a solution, complete with a 90-second pitch video of their invention submitted online and voted on by the public.
“Shaw utilizes principles of Design Thinking to plan for the future needs of flooring and home design to develop smarter, better products and services focused on the well-being of people and the planet,” explained Jay Henry, director of innovation for Shaw. “And, since these students are the future, we thought it would be fun to ask them to imagine how they think homes will actively support the ways we all live, entertain, learn and thrive over the next five years. Shaw is committed to creating a better future with customer-centric products, practices and investments, and hearing from these bright, young minds gives us inspiration on how we might design solutions to better support their futures.”
Registration is free learning and open to students across the globe in grades 4-12 (or equivalent) through Sept. 24, 2021. Video submissions are due in late October and winners will be announced in November.
To register a student or share this information with your local school(s), visit bridgeinnovate.com/invention-challenge.