The inventor’s path.
Every UKRIC competition follows the same path. You come with an idea, go through selection, learn to invent with a mentor, build and test your solution, and then present it to the judges at the final. Dates, age groups, tracks and the number of places are on each competition’s page.
You come with an idea.
To take part you need an idea for an invention — not a finished product. You register on the platform, fill in your invention’s page and submit an application to a competition that is accepting entries.
On the invention page you describe the problem, how your solution works and how it differs from what already exists. You can add photos, video, diagrams and sketches.
You don’t need a working prototype at this stage. An idea on paper competes on equal terms with work that already has a model: four of the five criteria can be scored at the maximum without a single part built.
Before the deadline we run open lectures — on how to find a problem worth solving, how to look for existing solutions like yours, and how to describe an idea so a judge understands it. The lectures are open to everyone, and the recordings stay in your profile.
- register and create your inventor profile
- attend the open lectures if you want to prepare
- describe your idea on the invention page
- submit your application before entries close
Judges read your idea.
Every application is scored by several judges independently of one another, against five open criteria. The criteria are published before entries open and do not change during the season.
Selection decides who moves on to the training stage. Places are limited — the competition page says exactly how many.
Each judge leaves you a comment: what is strong in your work and what is worth improving. You see your score for every criterion in your profile — not just “passed” or “didn’t pass”.
How ideas are judged →- wait and read the feedback
- if a score isn’t clear to you, ask — there is a separate appeal window in your profile
- if you didn’t get through, improve your invention and enter the next competition
You learn to invent.
Those who pass selection start training. These are not lectures about inventing in general — it is work on your own invention using a seven-step method, from sharpening the problem to preparing your presentation.
You get a mentor. You meet regularly and work out where the solution is weak and what to do about it next. A mentor doesn’t do the work for you — they ask the questions, and you find the answers.
This is also where you learn to keep an inventor’s log: a journal of your work that shows how the idea changed. A log is kept as you go, not written after the fact once everything is done. Judges can tell the difference, and it is worth points.
The seven steps of inventing →- work through the seven steps of inventing
- work with your mentor
- sharpen the problem and try out different solutions
- keep a log as you work
You build and test.
An idea becomes a solution once you can show it. At this stage you model your invention, build a prototype and test it — to find out where it doesn’t work.
The first version is rarely the best. That is exactly why judges value not a flawless model but the fact that you reworked it: what broke, what you changed, how it worked afterwards. You record test results in your log — with numbers, photos and video.
Alongside this you prepare the stand you’ll bring to the final and learn to talk about your invention briefly — so that when someone asks “how is this different?”, you have an answer.
- model and build a prototype
- test it, break it, rebuild it
- record the results in your log
- prepare your stand and presentation
You present your invention.
At the final you stand by your stand and tell the judges about your invention. They look at the prototype, read the log and ask questions. They judge not only the solution itself but how you travelled the path: how you found the problem, how many versions you tried, what you changed after testing.
The final panel is made up of different people from those who judged you at selection. This is deliberate, so that a score at the start does not carry over to the final automatically.
- present your invention
- answer the judges’ questions
- meet other inventors
Your invention’s page doesn’t disappear once the winners are announced. It stays in the public UKRIC catalogue — with photos, a description and your name. It is your portfolio: something you can show a teacher, a university or a future employer.
The competition ends. The invention doesn’t.
A rejection is not the end of an invention.
The second version is almost always stronger than the first. That is exactly what we want to see.
Training places are limited, and strong ideas often don’t get through simply because others were a little more ready. That doesn’t mean your invention is bad. It means something was missing — and the judges wrote to tell you what.
Your invention stays in your profile. You can improve it and enter the next UKRIC competition when it opens for entries. Competitions on the platform run regularly, one after another, so you won’t have to wait years.
One condition: the invention has to get better. Take the judges’ comments into account, sharpen the problem, build or rebuild the model, run tests, find new existing solutions to compare with. When you resubmit, you fill in a separate field — what has changed since last time. The judges see it, along with your previous version and its comments.
An invention resubmitted without changes is sent back for more work.
You can have more than one idea.
You can have as many inventions in your profile as you like. You can keep working on an old one while starting a new one, enter both in a competition, or pause one and work on another. There are no limits.
The next intake is being prepared.
Register now — we’ll let you know when entries open and give you access to the lectures.
