Student inventors displayed their creations Thursday at the 16th annual UW-Madison innovation competition.
According to Jim Beal from the College of Engineering external relations department, Innovation Days is an annual invention contest held in Engineering Hall and consists of two days of judging.
Beal said this is the second year where organizers have placed limitations on students to not submit inventions that are used for class.
Despite this regulation, he said, there was a great turn out of approximately 30 students.
Each student received 10 minutes to present their inventions to judges. The judges then viewed prototypes separately.
According to Beal, students may receive prizes from $700-10,000 for winning in various categories.
Beal said alumni who have succeeded in the industry judged the event, which allowed competing students to gain experience similar to pitching an actual invention.
""We're trying to infuse the idea of entrepreneurs in campus culture,"" he said. ""These are skills that any employer would like to have in an employee.""
The judges asked questions about the market, practicality and how students would deal with competition.
According to Kevin Hart, a UW-Madison senior who participated in the event, the competition is beneficial because it allows participants to obtain credit for their own ideas.
""I think all engineers should take advantage of this opportunity,"" he said. ""The benefit of applying the technical knowledge gained in class to real-life design and applications is unparalleled. I can't stress how huge of an opportunity this is. More people should take advantage of it.""
Innovation Days will continue with seven more students Friday in Engineering Hall.
