London Southbank University
LSBU supports student applications to The Mayor's Entrepreneurs Competition (TMEC). TMEC is a prestigious competition to demonstrate a combination of engineering and entrepreneurial excellence. Despite numerous applications, the Engineering School had not yet had an applicant get into later stages of the competition. To rectify this an embedded programme introducing Enterprise to Engineers has been developed, supported by the Engineers in Business Prize Fund. The goal is to support as many quality applications as possible to go into The Mayor's Entrepreneurs Competition.
Called Design and Practice, the level 4 core module for undergraduate Engineering Students equipped engineering students with design discipline, creativity and problem-solving skills. This is the first major initiative to support students in entering external enterprise competitions. Three hundred students took part in the module, working in teams to develop an idea. The programme culminated in a Pitch Party in front of a panel of university academics and student entrepreneurs who chose our first Engineers in Business winners. Prizes were awarded to multiple students with top cash awards going to the Gold, Silver and Bronze award winners.
Twenty applications were submitted for The Mayor of London’s Entrepreneur competition - the highest number LSBU has ever submitted, with a large number of applicants coming from within the School of Engineering. Three students have reached the semi-finals - all from the School of Engineering!
Gold Award Winner: ECO Threads, Aysha Golam, BEng (Hons) Mechanical Engineering; Michaela Henry, BEng (Hons) Mechanical Engineering; Gowsica Pushpanathan, BEng (Hons) Mechanical Engineering; Yusuf Yusuf, BEng (Hons) Mechanical Engineering - £600 Engineers in Business Prize
The ECO Threads team developed eco-friendly and sustainable clothing from a new material created from constituent components of cigarette butts.
The ECO Threads team developed eco-friendly and sustainable clothing from a new material created from constituent components of cigarette butts.
Silver Award Winner: Photo Filter - Giovanni Cornaglia, MEng (Hons) Mechanical Engineering; Daniel Leo, BEng (Hons) Mechanical Engineering; Ivailo Nedelchev, BEng (Hons) Mechanical Engineering; Karthikeyan Theivendrarasa, BEng (Hons) Mechanical Engineering - £400 Engineers in Business Prize
The Photo Filter team created a device to retro-fit onto vehicles, that purifies air and produces clean energy.
The Photo Filter team created a device to retro-fit onto vehicles, that purifies air and produces clean energy.
Bronze Award Winner: Smart Socket - Chris Balshaw, BEng (Hons) Electrical and Electronic Engineering (Apprenticeship); Trevor Mark Jenkins, BEng (Hons) Electrical and Electronic Engineering (Apprenticeship); Peter Brimble, BEng (Hons) Mechanical Engineering, John Little, BEng (Hons) Mechanical Engineering - £400 Engineers in Business Prize
The Bronze award winners developed a smart socket that avoids strain on the national grid and reduces wear on appliances.
The Bronze award winners developed a smart socket that avoids strain on the national grid and reduces wear on appliances.
Positive Feedback
This has been the most collaborative project that I have ever been involved in. Working with the support from LSBU’s Enterprise team and Engineers in Enterprise has really helped to motivate and inspire our talented and diverse students. Our engineering programmes at LSBU understand the importance of incorporating real-world challenges and entrepreneurship skill sets into our curriculum. I am beaming with pride at how well our students developed and pitched their ideas; they demonstrated creativity, innovation and professionalism throughout. Student feedback has been overwhelmingly positive, and that is just one of the many measures of this entire approach being successful. Looking to the long-term it would be logical to explore how this year’s students can mentor and advise our incoming students so that we build a community of support for like-minded students that want to improve the world.
Alessio Corso, Senior Lecturer, Head of Division: Mechanical Engineering and Design
London South Bank University