BT inaugurates National Inventors Day
BT has launched National Inventors Day to celebrate the creativity of British innovators.
The event is designed to ensure that Britain maintains its status as a hotbed for invention, fuelled by developments such as the telephone, TV and jet engine, by inspiring a new generation of inventors to create the revolutions of the future.
As part of this effort BT commissioned a survey of 3,000 people to gauge current perceptions of the sector, uncovering a clear gender split with 69 per cent of women openly doubtful of their inventiveness versus just 58 per cent for men.
Over half of all UK adults (58 per cent) and one third of children (32 per cent) failed to name a single British inventor with the most popular answers given as Alexander Graham Bell followed by James Dyson, John Logie Baird, James Watt and George Stephenson.
To tackle these issues it is proposed to make invention more accessible by breaking down adult stereotypes that all inventors are geniuses (65 per cent), hard-working (41 per cent) and male (37 per cent).
In addition more than two-thirds of children (64 per cent) and half of adults (49 per cent) believed that invention was the sole preserve of scientists, engineers and geniuses.
Tim Whitley, managing director, research and innovation at BT said: “As a company with a long history of innovation, BT wants to celebrate inventors past and present – and help bring invention home. That’s why we’ve launched the very first National Inventors Day – and our new report to raise awareness of the contribution that great British inventors continue to make to society, and to inspire the next generation of inventive thinkers.”