Press Release

The Henry Ford and its Invention Convention Worldwide Partners Honor 185 Inventors in First Ever Invention Convention Globals presented by Raytheon Technologies

(Dearborn, Mich. – Aug. 25, 2021) ─ On August 20, 2021, 185 students from participating Invention Convention Nationals programs in the United States, Mexico, Singapore, and China were honored during the first-ever Invention Convention Globals, presented by Raytheon Technologies. The virtual celebration was hosted by Sr. Director of Development at Hasbro, Gray Bright with special keynote speaker William Kamkwamba, author of The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind.

“Our goal with this first global competition was to have students gain inspiration from each other and to realize that despite their locations, they are all trying to better their environments and the world they live in,” said Patricia Mooradian, president & CEO, The Henry Ford. “It has been an amazing experience to see these young people tackle important topics– from climate change and the environment to health and safety issues. Their perseverance and ingenuity are an inspiration to us all.”

Invention Convention Globals participation consists of select student inventors from Invention Convention affiliates across the globe. To participate, students were required to submit a video presentation of their invention, a prototype, an inventor’s logbook showing the journey of their invention process and a display board highlighting key points of the invention process.

“This event connected young changemakers across multiple countries and allowed them the opportunity, perhaps for the first time, to learn from their peers with different cultures, backgrounds and ideas,” said Randy Bumps, Executive Director of Corporate Social Responsibility at Raytheon Technologies. “May this global community continue to support and inspire one another as they create our shared future.”

This year's inventors taking home top honors include:

• 11th-graders Soham Joshi and Raaghav Malik from the United States (OH), received multiple awards including first place in the 11-12th grade category and the Best in Show award for their invention, S.E.N.S.E – a multipurpose robotic glove designed to teach sign language through guided manual motions.
• First grader Yan Ziling from Shanghai was awarded first place in the K-2 category for his invention Children SOS Shoes – shoes that have a motion sensor, water immersion sensor and an alarm to keep children out of danger.
• The team of Muyan Liu, Kexiangwen Shi, Jiaxin Tai, and Yuhan Wang from Shanghai for their invention Happy Spray, which helps reduce the environmental effects, waste and cross infection of disinfectant in public places.
• Tenth graders Carlo Andre Bravo Diaz, Diego Angel Fonseca Perez, and Melanie Sarai Jasso Garcia, from Mexico for Ortho-LED, an invention that improves children’s spelling and learning about new topics.

Invention Convention Worldwide is a global K-12 invention education curricular program mapped to national and state educational standards that teaches students problem-identification, problem-solving, entrepreneurship and creativity skills and builds confidence in invention, innovation and entrepreneurship for life. More than 135,000 K-12 inventors from across the globe participate in the programs each year.

The mission of Invention Convention Worldwide is to bring Invention Education to students everywhere. Organizations interested in bringing the year-long program to their region can get more information at https://inhub.thehenryford.org/icw/contact_us.