Excellence in design and innovation is the solution to Ireland's troubled economy, students at Trinity College heard today at the launch of the tenth international James Dyson design award.

The college’s School of Engineering will compete against students from 18 other countries for a prize fund of £100,000 (€120,000) this year, for inventions that provide “new and better ways to solve problems”.

Last year’s winners were the “Titan Arm” team from the University of Pennsylvania, who invented a battery-powered robotic arm to rehabilitate people with back injuries, by helping them to rebuild muscle and re-learn motor control.

A Dublin student's sports gum shield invention to prevent second impact syndrome in athletes made the top twenty global finals last year, while in 2009, a Carlow student made it to the finals with a hydraulic wheelchair brake.

James Dyson, the inventor behind the award best known for his bagless vacuum cleaner, has said a bright idea is just the start of the invention process.

“Developing and commercialising patentable technology is the hard part,” he said.

“We must encourage and financially support young engineers to solve the problems of today - and tomorrow. I’m looking for people that don’t just have a brilliant idea, but also the burning desire to make it a reality.”

The winning student or team will scoop a top prize of €36,000, and a further €12,000 for their university.