The Mayor's Entrepreneurs Competition: Design & Practice Module

London South Bank University (LSBU) supports student applications to The Mayor’s Entrepreneurs Competition. The Mayor’s Entrepreneurs Competition is a prestigious competition that allows entrants to demonstrate a combination of engineering and entrepreneurial excellence. LSBU’s Engineering School has a module called Design and Practice which integrates an enterprise programme, introducing enterprise to engineers – this programme is supported by the Engineers in Business prize fund. The goal is to support as many quality applications as possible to go forward in The Mayor’s Entrepreneurs Competition.

Design and Practice is a Level 4 Core Module for undergraduate engineering students and equips them with design discipline, creativity and problem-solving skills. This year, two hundred and eighty-three students took part in the module, working in teams to develop a business idea. The programme culminated in a Pitch Party in front of a panel of university academics and resident business entrepreneurs who chose the Engineers in Business winners – £3,000 worth of Engineers in Business prizes were awarded to the Gold, Silver and Judge’s Choice winners, as well as small cash prizes being awarded to the top ten finalists.

Gold Winner: StatClean

Project:

The StatClean team comprises  Michael Beaven; Tadas Povilaitis; Balazs Horvath who are BEng (Hons) Electrical and Electronic Engineering PT Students and Jacob Church, BEng (Hons) Electrical and Electronic Engineering (Apprenticeship) Student – £700 total Engineers in Business Prize.

StatClean uses high-voltage electricity and a fan to pass air between electrically charged plates to clean London Underground air.

Commenting on the competition Michael Beaven said, “This course is the gift that keeps on giving! I can’t believe we got shortlisted; It has brought genuine joy to the entire team. Thanks for letting us know, it’s been a well-needed morale boost for all of our hard work.”

Awarded: £700

Joint Silver Winner: I/O Room

Project:

Mina Stojic, BEng (Hons) Mechanical Engineering Student; Mikeleno Fureraj, BEng (Hons) Advanced Vehicle Engineering Student; Dominik Goluch, BEng (Hons) Mechanical Engineering Student and Aurelio Jesus, BEng (Hons) Mechanical Engineering Student – Total of £500 Engineers in Business Prize

The I/O Room provides upgraded fire evacuation using IR and motion sensing technologies.  This business idea was shortlisted for the finals of The Mayor’s Entrepreneurs Competition.

Awarded: £500

Joint Silver Winner: Spray a waste

Project:

The Spray a waste team comprises Patrick Gomes Da Cruz, Alif Grimm, William Murphy, Kisa Syed – all BEng (Hons) Mechanical Engineering Students – a total of £500 Engineers in Business Prize

Spray a waste reduces food waste in fridges by removing ethene gas.

Awarded: £500

Judge's Choice: Sustainable Energy Solutions

Project:

The Sustainable Energy Solutions team comprises Pearce Campion and Mark Craig, both BEng (Hons) Electrical and Electronic Engineering (PT) Students, and Aisleen McKeever (not pictured) is a MEng (Hons) Mechanical Engineering PT Student – a total of £500 Engineers in Business Prize.

This innovation is focused on the creation of magnets and coils to generate power using existing infrastructure.

Awarded: £500

Positive feedback

This year marked our students return to face-to-face teaching on campus for the first time since the pandemic. It has stretched everyone’s ability to adapt. Returning to campus after such a long time out has not been easy. Our engineering students have not only adapted well, but they have managed to soar. They have developed ways to navigate around unexpected events and be patient while doing so. The teamwork demonstrated by the prize-winning teams has been inspirational for me to see. The real embodiment of entrepreneurship, innovation, engineering, and business skills all combined in just the right amount to produce some exciting ideas.

Their character shown throughout their projects, and throughout the academic year has also demonstrated that their willingness to learn is a choice that they have made and that they are working endlessly hard towards. The support provided by Engineers in Business Fellowship (EIBF) has inspired our engineering students to think beyond conventional solutions and to really innovate. I am indebted to the EIBF for its ongoing support and belief in our students. I am a real believer that supporting and nurturing learning can change a person’s life and I hope that the prize money provided by EIBF will enable some of the student business ideas to develop.

I once read that the future belongs to those who learn more skills and combine them in creative ways. Together with the EIBF prize fund and my support, I hope and aim to help our engineering students to do this with their fantastic ideas. There’s a risk they may fall. However, they could also fly!

Associate Prof. Alessio Corso
Head of Division: Mechanical Engineering and Design
London South Bank University