The winners of the 2011 edition of the GENIAL! contest
Stimulating innovation
Design at the heart of innovation strategy Promoting design as an innovation tool among Luxembourg businesses was one of the objectives that Luxinnovation set itself for 2011. As a crucial interface between creativity and innovation, design considers economic, technological and societal aspects in order to shape products that have a high added value both for their users and for their producers. Where design is strategically integrated in businesses, it makes a significant contribution to the generation of innovative ideas and to their transposition into products, services and processes that are marketable, but also userfriendly and attractive. Integrating a design methodology into the innovation strategies of the business community thus constitutes a genuine factor of competitiveness. Following the presentation of a national action plan for design, the range of services proposed by Luxinnovation was extended considerably in order to coach businesses at every stage of their design process. The Agency has also provided guidance for 3 design projects that eventually secured funding from the Ministry of the Economy and Foreign Trade, and more than 10 businesses benefited from the ongoing support of Luxinnovation advisors.
IEE’s design approach for the 3D MLI SensorTM IEE specialises in the production and development of intelligent sensors. The company, which is based in Luxembourg, commissioned the firm Enthoven Associates Design Consultants to design the casing of its 3D MLI SensorTM. Three versions of the casing were produced, to be used depending on the architectural context. The 3D MLI SensorTM generates a matrix of distance data to compile a topographical image of the field of view. IEE uses this image as input data for applications such as high-precision people counting, single person detection and the surveillance of valuable objects. Benefiting from Luxinnovation
Creativity develops from an early age: The GENIAL! contest Another initiative aimed at promoting creativity and design drew particular attention in 2011. This was the organisation of the third edition of the Génial contest for innovative ideas, which rewarded 26 budding innovators aged 5 to 20. Entries were prepared individually or by groups. The best projects were selected by a panel of experts from the worlds of culture, design, education and enterprise who considered the innovative nature of the project, its potential for implementation and the quality of the argumentation. Since its creation in 2009, this competition for innovative ideas, organised in cooperation with the Ministry of National Education and Vocational Training, has encouraged the youngest members of the community to express and develop their ideas. Successfully so, as the three editions of the contest inspired 785 young contestants to submit a total of 419 ideas. Information on the winners of the 2011 edition is available on: www.genial.lu guidance in the search for suitable contacts, IEE was able not only to contact a design consultant, but also to obtain advice on the best way to install the sensors in ceilings. The design approach, which IEE embraced, enabled the company to develop a more competitive product, to better understand market considerations and, most importantly, to meet the expectations of its customers precisely. A funding application for innovation advisory services relating to this project, which was implemented with support from Luxinnovation, was submitted and accepted under the “de minimis” heading of the Law on the promotion of innovation and research. www.iee.lu