Young inventor wins UCOL innovation award

23 June 2011

UCOL Deputy Chief Executive Strategy Clare Crawley presented Ryan with his prize at the Innovate Manawatu awards ceremony on Tuesday night.

Ryan made it into the top 10 in the entrepreneurial competition that attracted more than 250 entries.

"I'm pretty excited," he said. "I never thought I would get in the top 50, let alone the top 10."

As reported in the Manawatu Standard, Ryan’s idea for his entry, the milking cups cleaning system, came to him after hearing his uncle complain about how he hated the task. The system, a pair of gloves fitted to a hose, controlling the flow of water through them by wrist movement, would save farmers time and make the job easier, Ryan said.

The prototype he made for a school science fair impressed his Whakarongo School teachers, and principal Jaco Broodryk, who encouraged him to enter the awards.
Since coming up with the idea, he has worked to expand on original plans, make prototypes, write a business plan and portray his concept to others.

"I've learnt so much. It's a lot harder than just coming up with an idea."
Clare says she was impressed with Ryan’s approach to a problem for which he found an effective solution. “Ryan was methodical in his testing and evaluation of his concept. He understood the process of taking a concept beyond the initial bright idea and was very passionate about it,” she says. “He also showed confidence belying his young age, during his presentation to the judges.”

“UCOL has a strong desire to support youthful creativity,” says Clare. “As Thomas Edison said ‘The greatest invention in the world is the mind of a child’.”

It is the first time the Bio Commerce Centre and Palmerston North City Council competition has been held.

Massey University students Rhys Knauf, Michelle Power and Julian Maggin took the first-place $20,000 prize in the competition for their calf feeder.
Highly commended awards were presented to Bruce Kereama for his Maori soft toys idea and Michael Lawrence for his sheep tethering device.

ENDS

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