Team ‘Big Orange’ included Jianfei Yin, from the School of Architecture, Jiangfeng Dong, Yuan Gao, Huaxia Deng, Yong Peng, Jing Luo and Yicheng Zhang, from the School of Engineering
Postgraduate and post-doctoral researchers from the University have achieved success at this year’s Engineering YES (Young Entrepreneurs Scheme) Competition.
During the competition individual teams prepared and presented business plans for an imaginary start-up company to a group of investors and industry experts. Throughout the process, the Liverpool teams acquired the skills to plan a new business venture, networked with successful entrepreneurs and had a lot of fun at the same time.
During the East Midlands Heat, Team ‘Big Orange’ won the prizes for the Best Elevator Pitch and Best Peer Review. They also earned a place in the final, where they scooped the cash prize of £250 for Best Intellectual Property with their product, Pregnabelt, a device with multiple sensors that allow soon-to-be parents to monitor the heartbeat and movement of their baby.
Meanwhile in the West Midlands Heat, David Vallespin, Samuel Bautista Lazo and Juan Angulo of Team ‘INNOVA’ won the prize for the Best Elevator Pitch.
Big Orange also won the University of Liverpool prize of £1,000 for placing highest amongst the Liverpool-based teams within the competition.
The award was funded by the Graduate School Skills Team as recognition of the dedication involved in participating in the competition. To prepare and support the teams throughout the competition, the team organised a series of seven seminars, which were delivered by business experts and included topics on forming business ideas, writing business plans, marketing, networking, intellectual property, business finance and how to pitch a business.
Two other teams took part; TBA Solutions, which includes Olivier Allegre, Jonathan Griffiths, Paul Fitzsimons and Nicholas Yates from the School of Engineering and Liverpool Innovative Ventures, who included Dr Pavel Borisov and John Sharp from the School of Chemistry and Andrew Birch and Nicholas Underwood from the School of Engineering, ensured that the University was successfully represented during the first year it participated in the competition.
Dr Aimee Blackledge, Skills Developer in the Graduate Schools Skills Team, said: “Participation in these prestigious career-enhancing competitions can greatly assist employability, both academically and in terms of finding a job within industry. They enable the development of a wide range of transferable skills, including team working, entrepreneurial awareness, creativity and innovation and working well under pressure.”
If you are interested in taking part in any of the YES competitions, contact Aimee it the Graduate School Skills Team.
Team INNOVA