25 Feb 2013
WestFocus Students Excel with their Bright Ideas
The 9th Bright Ideas competition came to a close on Wednesday, with a total of 21 prizes awarded. The competition is open to students within the WestFocus group of universities and attracted 178 entries involving 280 students across disciplines and levels of study.
Ideas included social enterprises, campaigns and projects as well as new or improved products and businesses. Many students entered as part of their degree programmes, while others are involved in entrepreneurs’ societies or enterprise mentoring schemes.
‘Bright Ideas encourages students to recognise and value their ideas - their solutions to the problems and needs they observe around them. The competition is part of Kingston's entrepreneurship support service designed to help our students to be active, successful participants in a fast-changing world.’
Martha Mador, Head Of Enterprise Education
The competition is also supported by the STEM University Enterprise Network2, and Marketest, a specialist market research company:
- the STEM Prize went to a novel engineered solution to the problem of bicycle seat theft.
- The Marketest prize - £500 of market research - went to a fashion range designed for wheel-chair users.
The Final Event took place on 20th February at the newly renovated Marylebone Campus of the University of Westminster. To find out more about the winners go to www.westfocus.org.uk
26 people generously gave their time and careful consideration to judge the 1st and 2nd rounds. Each entry was scrutinised twice, then a short list was drawn up. Short listed entries were then scrutinised by two further judges. The final judges spent several hours together considering the relative merits of the short listed entries. Their help has been invaluable.
Anyone who is still at a WestFocus university next year should start planning for the next competition, which will launch in September 2013.
£1,000 Prize Winners
Rebecca Teji - Kingston
Dfence Cab’s is a free app used to provide instant accessibility to the credentials of your cab driver. This app will store and recognise the number plate of your cab, providing notification if the cab is a legal and safe.
Annika Erskine - Kingston
An online wedding venue search engine.
Daniel Tucker, Kingston
A personnel locating system providing real time location and statistical information of front line troops to commanders on the ground.
Jonathan Wauchope - Kingston
A bicycle seat lock that secures the seatpost to the bike frame without having to be removed.
Darongklod Somton, Huei-Chia Wang, Sam In Lao, Shruti Barton and Yella Tee -
Kingston
Easthetic Design Company creates reusable hands-free flower carriers. Its hands-free, stylish, comfortable, and reusable Posy Tote makes it possible for consumers to carry bunches of flowers safely and with ease.
Angelika Teudt, Kingston
Every Child An Instrument is an initiative that seeks to help youth from lower-income families get a chance to learn a classical instrument by loaning them the instrument itself and help them find a teacher.
Anderson Garland, Sadia Ahmed – Kingston
The Roam portable folding bike is an innovative, user centric approach to 21st century urban cycling designed for commuter, leisure and freeride cyclists.
£250 Prize Winners
Fatema Chowdhury - Brunel
Theatre plays that reflect a typical day at work of a particular profession to provide an entertaining and attractive platform for students to gain a better understanding of the world of work and make an informed career choice.
Anca Nicolaescu , Ivo Bochenski , Ray Butchart- Kuhlmann , Anna Neher , Stine Iversen – Kingston
42 designed Tabli, a chalkboard placemat for children created in 3 different shapes, to stimulate their creativity and learning. It is easily washable, reusable and easy to store.
Anna Jeetla , Jangdeep Jeetla – Kingston
Flashem is a mobile cover innovationusing digital photo frame technology of LED quality allowing the case to project videos.
Claire Lancashire, SGUL – Kingston
Best Health and Social Care
Help4Hands leg rest is a portable, light-weight, easy to clean and easy to use product
Aminur Rahman – Kingston
A smartphone application that gives spectators at stadiums and events the ability to order and purchase food and beverages from their seat.
Evaldine Enyong –Kingston Afrobeatslyrics is a website which promotes creative work existing in the African Entertainment Industry.
Ninela Ivanova – Kingston
The ‘Funky Fungi’ is a workshop that encourages thinking outside of the box to stimulate creativity and ideas generation within an SME’s business team.
Ryan Duffy – Kingston
An innovating way of protecting expensive suspension components during motorsport competition.
Celia Small, Karen Szerencsits , Mei Leung, Sean Hearson - Kingston
Jabels by Blue Glimpse are reusable jar labels made from stretchy silicon bands which fit over various jar sizes.
Valentina Giordani - Kingston
Tootsies is an online retailer specialising in selling fashionable high heeled shoes for women with size 3 feet and under.
David Shannon – Kingston
The Safe Mix is a push button to control the flow and temperature of water from mixer bath taps.
Cydney Pankhurst – SGUL - Kingston
Safe and Suitable footwear designed for hospital patients that ensures quality rehabilitation by reducing risk of falls.
George Markou – Brunel
A web app that combines multiple email accounts under a single online platform.
Marketest Prize - £500 of market research
Garfield Li – Kingston
Designer clothing specially made for people with disabilities that has a wonderful balance between fashion and function
For more information, please contact:
Ranes Formosa
WestFocus Entrepreneurship Centre
