Huge congratulations to all the winners and finalists. The diversity and standard of entries was incredibly high and reflects the strong entrepreneurial spirit that exists across the whole of King’s. We are certain that all of the finalists will continue to build their skills, make their ventures successful and become confident leaders. The event was a great chance for people to come together, make new connections, and celebrate the commitment of our students, staff and alumni to making the world a better place, and where better than in this beautiful setting at the heart of policy-making
Jeremy Shorter, Learning Programme Manager, Entrepreneurship Institute
21 February 2018
Winners of Idea Factory announced at the House of Lords
The winners of the Entrepreneurship Institute's Idea Factory 2018 competition were announced last night at the House of Lords
The winners of the Entrepreneurship Institute’s Idea Factory 2018 competition were announced last night at the House of Lords.
80 guests were hosted in the River Room by Baroness Wolf of Dulwich CBE, Sir Roy Griffiths Professor of Public Sector Management at King’s, with guest speaker Emma Jones MBE, Founder of Enterprise Nation and Small Business Crown Representative.
Professor Evelyn Welch, Provost & Senior Vice President (Arts & Sciences) at King’s opened the event and attendees heard an inspiring talk from Olga Kravchenko, Founder of Museum 2:0, about her entrepreneurial journey from Idea Factory applicant to running two businesses on the King’s20 accelerator.
The event welcomed King’s students, staff and alumni along with guests including Angel investors, business leaders, Westminster Council representatives, mentors and enterprise educators and experts from the Centre for Entrepreneurs, London Business School and universities across London.
Prize money of £1500 was awarded to each of the four winning ideas and all finalists and winners receive ongoing support from the Entrepreneurship Institute to help build their venture.
Selected from the 11 finalists, the winners are:
Industry Innovator: Aeysha Ahmed, undergraduate, Global Health and Social Medicine, Social Science and Public Policy for her idea for a premium halal nail product for Muslim women.
ChangeMaker Award: Muhammad Altalib (team lead), undergraduate, Business Management, King's Business School, for his idea to use sensors to monitor soil quality in Africa to improve yield.
Moonshot Award: Leonardo Jones, undergraduate medical student, Life Sciences and Medicine for his idea to use bacteria to break down plastic pollution.
Storyteller Award: Kathie Wong (team lead), MD (Res), Life Sciences and Medicine for her idea for a blood test tracking app for patients with prostate cancer.