University of Birmingham Engineers in Business Competition

Now in its second year, Birmingham University’s Engineers in Business Competition is one of the many initiatives the Careers Network B-Enterprising Team offers to support enterprising and entrepreneurial students.  This year, the University of Birmingham added £3,500 to the £3,000 awarded by Engineers in Business Fellowship taking the total prize value to £6,500.   The Careers Network B-Enterprising Team were supported in this competition by colleagues in the School of Engineering and Development and Alumni Relationships Office (DARO).

Winner: Capture Systems

Project:

Max Wade, MEng. Mechanical Engineering – £3,000 Engineers in Business Prize

Max’s solution is a passive system that relies upon the wake of passing vehicles to force air through the system, which contains naturally occurring Portlandite that reacts with carbon dioxide. The cost of the kit is offset by selling the by-product which has a variety of uses, including building materials. This shifts some of the burden of net-zero to private households and offers consumers an alternative to reforestation for carbon offsetting.

Awarded: £3,000

Second Prize Winner: Urine Analysis and Data

Project:

Aryan Parekh,  MEng Mechanical Engineering  and  Tushar Rana, BSc Mathematics and Computer Science – £2,000 Engineers in Business prize

Aryan and Tushar created a cost-effective and innovative urine test system built into a home toilet. The process of getting a urine sample can be time-consuming and expensive. The team created a new design to enable people to check their health from the comfort of their homes.

Awarded: £2,000

Third Prize Winner: Hydrogen Powered Metrorail

Project:

Vanessa Chigariro, BEng Mechanical Engineering – £1,000 Engineers in Business Prize

Vanessa’s proposal for a Plastic Powered Train addresses the need for an emission-free, fast, reliable, cheaper, quieter international public transportation system, fuelled by a carbon-neutral, renewable energy source.  Vanessa said, “I grew up in South Africa where public transport is unreliable, inefficient and ineffective. Another issue that troubles me, and indeed represents one of the biggest problems facing the planet, stems from anthropogenic-driven climate change and the transportation sector is currently one of the leading offenders. In addition, landfills and plastic waste dumping continues to be a critical issue. My idea addresses all three issues.

Awarded: £1,000

Highly Commended: INTERACTIF

Project:

Louis Akaatenger, MEng MEchanical Engineering – £500 Engineers in Business Prize

Louis submitted a project idea called INTERACTIF which is an online meeting and video application that integrates 3D Virtual environments. INTERACTIF opens the door for more possibilities to create more specialist educational environments and is ideal in both commercial and educational settings.

Awarded: £500

Positive feedback

We’re delighted to be part of the Engineers in Business competition as the funding and support on offer helps our students explore the potential of their ideas.   Our partnership with Engineers in Business has gone from strength to strength, meaning more University of Birmingham students can realise the value of their wonderful innovations.  We remain committed to student entrepreneurship, so we want our students to take advantage of the many opportunities around them in business as well as academia, and this competition is an excellent way to achieve this.

Nicola Gittins
Deputy Director
Student Entrepreneurship and Enterprise
Careers Network