28 Engineering Students Compete for £10,000 in Engineers in Business Champion of Champions Final on 26 October 2020

Today, business innovation competitions are a major part of university education for many students and Engineers in Business Fellowship provides universities with prize funds to reward the most ground-breaking ideas. 

The students who win these university heats then enter the national Engineers in Business Champion of Champions Competition in a bid to reach the prestigious Final. These finalists go onto pitch their innovations to judges and a live audience in anticipation of winning a share of £10,000, mentoring from Sainsbury Management Fellows and prizes from our sponsors.* 

The 2020 Champion of Champions Final is here! Ten teams (comprising 28 students) have been shortlisted to pitch their innovations to an esteemed panel of judges from engineering, business, and education sectors.  

The Awards Presentation will take place (live online) on 26 October 2020 and will be compered by TV presenter and engineer, Kate Bellingham.

We proudly announce the Champion of Champions 2020 Finalists:

University of Exeter: BioSmart – This project works with remote rural communities to make and sell sustainable biofuels

University of Sheffield: SeedSense – Autonomous robots to monitor soil and plant conditions

University of Surrey: SimSurgeon – Software for virtual reality training of surgeons and medical practitioners 

Anglia Ruskin University: AC Biode – First AC batteries and electric systems for e-mobility and energy storage

University of Exeter: PETexe – Smart filter that prevents the plastic fibres that shed from synthetic clothing in washing machines from entering water systems

Imperial College London: WeAlign – Games for people with balance issues due to inner ear and brain problems. The games are exercises which help restore balance

Lancaster University: Plantara – Thorn, a sensor-based detector for optimising soil management and plant growth 

University of Southampton: Inpulse – Smart clothing that increases strength and corrects muscle imbalances – this is used for any type of sport 

University of Surrey: SiteShield – A device which allows farm and commercial vehicles to operate within a protected boundary thus preventing theft of these vehicles 

Imperial College London: Neoptera – A robotic ecosystem for neurosurgical treatment based on novel bio-inspired steerable catheter – designed to improve the treatment of epilepsy

Judging 

The Champion of Champions 2020 finalists submitted a video, poster and Business Model Canvas extolling the virtues of their innovations. These, and their live pitches, will be judged on a range of criteria including originality, viability of the idea, well-defined target audiences and the benefits to the customer/society. The judges are:

• Sainsbury Management Fellow Henning von Spreckelsen, Director and Investor in Plastecowood 

• Ana Avaliani, Associate Director, Enterprise, Royal Academy of Engineering

• Gareth Trainer, Chair, Enterprise Educators UK

• Steve Cleverley, CEO, Oxentia Ltd, Global Innovation Consultancy

Prizes

Two prizes of £3,000 and two of £1,500 will be awarded to the finalists that the judges deem to have the best innovations. There is also a People’s Vote: £500 will be awarded to the team that secured the most votes on the EIBC website for their innovation (voting is now closed). A further £500 will be awarded to the team that gains the most votes from the audience watching the online prlesentation on 26 October. 

Winning a prestigious Engineers in Business Champion of Champions award not only celebrates the students’ ingenuity, the cash prizes provide valuable funding to help them further develop their innovations. Many of these finalists go onto create businesses that help people and change lives for the better.

*THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS

EIBF wishes to express its thanks and appreciation to sponsors of the Engineers in Business Competition – all of whom are providing prizes and/or support the competition. Purple CV is providing personal CV packages, CUP (Cambridge University Press) is providing copies of the publication Digital Innovation and Entrepreneurship, IPSE (Association of Independent and Self Employed) is providing business support packages and CABS (Chartered Association of Business Schools) is a long term supporter of Engineers in Business Fellowship and helps to spread the word about the Engineers in Business Competition.