Idea Factory 2023: Engineers in Business Competition

27 October 2022

Idea Factory 2023: Engineers in Business Competition

New competition invites innovative ideas from Engineering, Computer Science, and Biomedical Engineering and Imaging Sciences students and alumni.

Every year, the Entrepreneurship Institute launches ‘Idea Factory’ - King’s flagship idea generation competition looking for the brightest ideas from across the King’s community and nurturing them into ventures.

For 2022-23, the Idea Factory competition is partnering with the Engineers in Business Fellowship (EIBF), a registered charity promoting the importance and value of business education for engineers. The new Engineers in Business Competition (EIBC) invites students and alumni (graduated since 2017) from Engineering, Computer Science and Biomedical Engineering and Imaging Sciences courses to share ideas that are addressing one of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs).

Winners will receive an incredible £3,000 to put towards their business idea and be invited to enter the EIBC Champion of Champions Competition in 2024.

The inclusion of the new Engineers in Business Competition in this year’s Idea Factory Competition encourages engineering students and alumni to be more entrepreneurial. The Sustainable Development Goals are the blueprint our society has for a sustainable future, and engineers have the skills and abilities to address many – if not all – of these seventeen goals. This competition, sponsored by the Engineers in Business Fellowships, will inspire eligible teams to think about how they can use these skills to create products, services and solutions that lead to a low carbon future, and one where we can be healthier, more active, and less wasteful.”
Dawn Bonfield MBE, Royal Society Entrepreneur in Residence, Department of Engineering

Teams will have access to Idea Factory workshops run by the Entrepreneurship Institute from November to January, to support idea validation and develop pitching skills. Those entering the EIBC will have the added benefit of extra engineering-specific workshops and mentoring, networking at Royal Academy of Engineering events, access to prototyping facilities, and the potential use of media suites to prepare for a separate pitch-off.

Are you eligible to apply for the EIBC?

To apply for the Engineers in Business Competition, we ask that students or alumni meet the following criteria:

Meet the main Idea Factory eligibility criteria, found here.
Have a team member who is a current King’s student or alumnus studying in the Department of Engineering, School of Biomedical Engineering and Imagining Sciences, or studying Computer Science.
If your eligible team member is an alumnus, they must have graduated in or since 2017.
The idea must have a clear link to making progress against the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
The Lead Applicant must be available to attend the EIBC Pitch Off (Monday 27 February 2024).
The idea must be early-stage and pre-revenue.

Please note: You cannot enter the EIBC with an engineering idea if you don’t have an eligible team member. If you apply for this competition and aren’t eligible, you’ll be informed by our team. If you’re not sure whether you are eligible, please get in touch with dawn.bonfield@kcl.ac.uk for advice.

Register your interest to get updates about the 2022-23 competition and select ‘yes’ if you’re interested in the EIBC. Sign up for Idea Factory workshops via the full Event Series here.