The COINS Grand Challenge 2021, a global innovation contest designed to improve the construction industry, has opened for entries.
Organised by software company Construction Industry Solutions Ltd (COINS), the contest awards £5,000 to the winner of its Open Competition and £2,500 to the winner of its Undergraduate Competition, with runner-up prizes in each category.
The Open Competition winner stands a chance of receiving £100,000 from COINS to commercialise their innovation.
The company also offers a paid internship to the winner of the Challenge’s Software Innovation Prize.
Deadline for entries is 28 June 2021; contestants can enter here.
Finalists in 2020 (pictured above) impressed judges with their ideas for a recyclable structural wall framing system; a system for measuring the real environmental performance of a building’s fabric; a green aggregate made from mining waste and polymer; and a new, affordable type of steel structural insulated panels.
Last year’s Open Competition winner was US-based Ali Khaloo, founder of Aren, who invented a platform for managing infrastructure assets using computer vision and artificial intelligence.
University of Sheffield engineering student, Krithiga Ravichandran, won the 2020 Undergraduate Competition with her idea to use 3D printing robots known as “Antbots” for remote, digital construction.
This year’s panel of judges includes Mark Beard, President of the Chartered Institute of Building (CIOB) and Chief Executive of construction firm, Beard.
“The COINS Grand Challenge is an opportunity for people to come forward and demonstrate their knowledge and ideas,” he said.
“The construction industry has traditionally been slow to update, modernise and improve its productivity so this is a step in the right direction. The COINS Grand Challenge is a chance for people to turn their initial idea into something that is significant, something that could change the way the construction industry works in the future.”
Also on this year’s judging panel is Stuart Binstock, President and CEO of the Construction Financial Management Association (CFMA), and Susan Campion, Joint Managing Director of Scottish housebuilder Campion Homes and non-executive director for Commonwealth Games Scotland.
Campion said: “I think the COINS Grand Challenge is an incredible opportunity for innovators from around the world to showcase what the future of construction could look like. The competition provides a fantastic platform to present exciting ideas for change in this sector.”
