Three weeks left to enter the UK's biggest innovation prize

Could your engineering innovation change the world? The Royal Academy of Engineering is looking for contenders for the MacRobert Award 2007, worth £50,000 tax-free to the winner, plus the solid gold MacRobert Award Medal. The closing date for entries is 31 January 2007.

Now in its 38th year, the MacRobert Award is Britain's pre-eminent award for innovation in engineering. Open to individuals or teams of up to five people from any size of company who have exploited a major engineering breakthrough, the winner will be announced at the Academy's Awards Dinner in London in June 2007.

Entries are welcomed from any field of engineering and technology as long as they are innovative, commercially successful and benefit society. A team of engineers from Dunfermline-based Optos plc (www.optos.com) won the 2006 MacRobert Award for developing the first ultra-wide retinal imager, which is now helping opticians across the world to diagnose eye problems much more efficiently.

"Optos shows that Britain's long tradition of engineering innovation is still thriving," says Dr Geoff Robinson, Chairman of the MacRobert Award judging panel. "Their determination to solve what seemed an impossible problem, using skills and technologies from a range of disciplines, led to ultimate success, not only in commercial terms but in the improvement of millions of people's lives. I am confident that there are many examples of such engineering excellence around the country that are worthy of becoming the winner of the 2007 MacRobert Award."

For further entry details please contact Jane Sutton at The Royal Academy of Engineering on tel. 020 7227 0536 or email macrobert@raeng.org.uk