Submit Your Radical Ideas

Through an annual competition, the Radical Innovation Award ® mobilizes innovators from around the world with the ideas to propel the industry forward. We create a platform for development and design visionaries to come together around innovations for the hotel and tourism industries.

We bridge the gap between dreamers and doers, fostering unique intersections of creative thought and business expertise. How do we do it? Through an international network of talent scouts and a call for entries. We discover these concepts and bring them to a global stage, nurturing the ideas, making introductions, award prizes and aiming to bring the concepts to fruition.

  • The Radical Innovation Award Student Project winner will receive $5,000 and the opportunity to apply for an Assistantship and full Scholarship from our University Partners.

    The Radical Innovation Award Student Product winners will receive $5,000, and the opportunity to attend The Makerspace at Black Fire Innovation.

  • The Radical Innovation Award University Partners offer the following opportunities to the Student Project Winners:

    • The University of Las Vegas Nevada (UNLV) offers the student design winner the opportunity to apply for an assistantship to their Masters of Architecture program.

    • The University of Illinois offers a Teaching Assistantship to their School of Architecture to a qualifying student winner.

    • NYU allows for the Student Winner to apply for a partial or full scholarship for a graduate degree from the NYUSPS Jonathan M. Tisch Center of Hospitality.

Categories

PROJECT - Professional

PROJECT - Student

Product - Student

Product - Professional

February 1

Call for Entries Open

July 10

Call for Project Entries Closes

august 1

Call for Product Entries Closes

SEPTEMBER 24

Finalists are announced and Voting Opens

October 24

Radical Innovation Award Ceremony

Judging Process

Through a blind judging process, the jury “Design Jury” will review all Project Submissions, and the “Product Jury” will review all the Product Submissions to select the finalists.

All concepts will be judged on originality, creativity, design, feasibility, and quality of presentation.

The finalists will be mentored by the Radical Innovation Jury and Advisory Board. The submissions will be showcased on this website and voting will open to the public.

Finalists will present their projects at an in-person event in October. After presentations are heard, the audience will vote and select their favorite concept. Winners will be announced that evening and will be published across multiple news outlets.

The Makerspace at
Blackfire Innovation

Radical Innovation has a once in a lifetime opportunity for the Student Product Winner to attend the invitation-only Makerspace at Black Fire Innovation.

The Makerspace at Black Fire Innovation, a resource of the UNLV Office of Economic Development. The Radical Innovation Student Product Winner will have the opportunity to be invited to attend the Makerspace free of charge to bring their idea to reality through prototyping, printing, sampling, or other project needs. The Makerspace personnel will assist the winner with production and design consultations sessions.  

The Makerspace is home to equipment and resources catering to marketing and product development projects, such as, 3D with Solidworks, Rhino software, 3D print prototypes, laser cutter, CNC router, heavy duty sewing equipment, library of hand tools, design assistance for logos and printed materials, Adobe Creative Suite, large format printer, embroidery machine and heat press machine.