Thinking outside the sustainable box – Kingston University students showcase their pioneering business ideas at 15th annual Bright Ideas competition

Posted Wednesday 19 February 2020

Kingston University students showcased their electrifying business ideas to industry professionals, alumni and staff at the Bright Ideas competition grand finale earlier this month. Held at Kingston Business School, sustainability was at the forefront, as students put their minds together to solve real global issues such as climate change.

For 15 years, Bright Ideas have been developing students' entrepreneurial skills to create innovate solutions to problems within a market setting. This year an astounding 505 ideas were submitted by students, which were whittled down to 53 before the final stage of the competition. The ideas were organised into eight categories, each with a judging panel. The finalists pitched their ideas to the judges, in the hopes of winning a cash prize of £1000 toward developing their idea.

Head of Enterprise Education at Kingston University Martha Mador couldn't have been more impressed with the level of creativity shown by students this year. "It has been a very exciting day and we are absolutely delighted with the quality of the ideas," she said.

Many of the ideas entered focused on sustainability, a prevalent global issue in the minds of today's students. One of the winning ideas was Velo2, a pollution filtrating tire. Velo2 Team Leader and BA Graphic Design student Megan Hunt entered Bright Ideas to develop her design ideas within a business setting. "The competition is perfect for developing ideas that you are not very confident in. This idea came out of a small notebook so I didn't think anything would come of it but Bright Ideas has been a really fantastic experience and I have learnt a lot," she said.

Student Entrepreneurship Manager at the University Dwain Reid was delighted to see students he has worked with throughout the year pitch their ideas. "It gives me that proud dad moment when I see the students come forward and present their ideas with such confidence," he said.

One of the highlights of the day was a keynote speech by the Chairman of Anthesis Consulting and of James Fisher and Sons Malcolm Paul. He shared his valuable business knowledge and advice with finalists, including his 3 key rules for success - team work, face-to-face communication and learning from your mistakes. He impressed upon the students that learning from the experience and advice given throughout the competition was key. "It's likely that 95% of these ideas might never work but that's not the point. You have had the courage to get up and present to us and have learnt how to build a business idea through expert advice - that is invaluable," he said.

Below is the full the list of winners and runner ups for this year's competition.

Winners
Idea	Description	Team members	Category
34minus1	34minus1 is a magazine showcasing projects made possible through a united Europe.	Megan Barclay, Alexandra Hayes, George Davison, Holly Moxham, Will Reuben	Social Enterprise




HugBuddy	A redesigned body pillow that acts as an anxiety reliever by encouraging hugs, cuddles and positive touch.	Gaby Traboulsy, Gareth Cowden, Sujin Kim	Virtual Panel


KuRo II	A small mars rover that is built on campus, which demonstrates the practical skills and knowledge gained as engineering students.	Dan Ingram, Armaan Tahiri, Charlotte King, Joseph Heslop, Ryan Horgan	Engineering 2




Road Rage	A Road Rage dashboard that makes the driver aware of their rage levels, using human emotion to control and measure speeding.	Kerri O'Shea, Jacob Jones	Health, Science and Wellbeing

Memory Lane	Journal of activities to help people overcome loneliness by giving them the opportunity to share fun memories with loved ones.	Chinwe Owhorji, Bettina Gardasz, Joy Jacquelines Awor, Nikita More	Golden Ticket



Scan & Bin	500,000 tons of recycling are contaminated in the UK each year, Scan & Bin can help.	Elliot Spiers	Internet of Things
Spontaneous	An app which generates spontaneous itinerary for its users in cities.	Giorgia Galentino, Frankie Parham	Service

Velo2	Pollution filtrating tyres are capable of absorbing 105 tonnes of pollutants every year in London, preventing thousands of premature deaths.	Megan Hunt, David Prior hope	Engineering 1

Grass Straw	Replacing plastic straws and food packaging with plant-base 100% environmental friendly materials.	Lilly Vo	Product
Runner ups
Idea	Description	Team members	Category
Daolondon	An online African fashion brand on a mission to revolutionise the industry with a customisation system that creates bespoke design.	Paule-carine Dao	Product
'Halo' - The portable bladeless fan	The portable bladeless fan offers clean and safe cooling, for everyone but targeted to infants and babies.	Paula Dixon, Hera Ahmad, Muhammad Subratty	Engineering 2


It's Not Just a Game	A game that facilitates creative thinking both individually and collectively among a team in classrooms, work spaces and at home.	Alanoud Alrasheed, Maha Omer, Rahat Hossain, Sydnie Roper	Service



VRTribe	A VR tour platform creates a positive impact on Africa's tourism industry by offering first-hand experience of diverse travel highlights.	Angie Kim, Franchiesca Lingal, Jingtong Hu, Maeva Chandler, Shaivya Mishra, Theresa Passi, Xiaoxuan Lin	Internet of Things





Play-Gym	Play-Gym reimagines the playground as a mutually beneficial space for Mothers to exercise and children to play.	Ella Davidson, Chloe Punter	Health, Science and Wellbeing

Oversight	A social enterprise which funds & supports research in black health and well-being and researchers of black heritage.	Tia Boddie	Social Enterprise
Automated Sorting Waste Disposal Unit	A bin which automatically identifies and sorts different types of waste depending upon whether or not they can be recycled.	Lydia Barnes	Engineering 1