Interview with Mechanical Engineer, Marina Kovaleva – Winner in Cardiff University’s Inspired Engineer Competition

Congratulations to Marina Kovaleva, one of six engineering students from Cardiff University to win an Inspired Engineer Award this year.

Marina, can you tell us a little about why you took part in the competition and about your innovation?

“I have been working on a new business idea over the last few months. The time that my university advertised the competition was well-timed and seemed to be a good opportunity to get feedback on my idea.

“To tackle global warming, engineers and scientists are faced with the challenge of utilising green fuels like hydrogen and ammonia. To develop a novel engine, burner or combustor component for these fuels, multiple designs must be tested with simulation software to predict the performance of a specific design choice.  However, understanding and processing these simulation results can be complex and often involves dealing with millions of data points.  My innovation,  the Fflam Las Toolkit, is a web application that processes simulation data through data reduction methods. This simplifies the decision-making process, enabling better designs for new and emerging fuels.”

What key things did you learn from taking part in the competition?

I felt that the competition was geared towards supporting engineers with unique ideas – too many enterprise competitions are dominated by generic or pre-existing businesses (ie baking or photography etc) rather than geared towards developing a novel engineering solutions. I feel that Cardiff University’s Inspired Engineer competition gave me confidence in having a promising business idea and also the opportunity to prepare and review my business plan. 

What elements of the competition did you find most challenging?

The competition questions were very future-oriented – I had to step out of my comfort zone of just the plan for product development and look at the bigger picture.

Would you recommend the competition to other students/why?

I would recommend it to other students already working on a business idea because it gives an opportunity to prepare and review their business plan. However, to make the most of this opportunity, it may be nice to integrate it with enterprise networking events or other business development sessions/training/awards hosted by the university.

What were the benefits of taking part?  

I enjoyed learning from others about their business ideas. Also, when applying to further courses and funding, the Inspired Engineer Award has helped support my application. 

How do you think the skills you learned in the competition will help you in the future?  

The skills learnt were mainly towards developing a business plan and looking at the bigger picture when developing a product.

Has the experience inspired you to take your business idea further or to develop new ideas?

Yes, I am continuing to develop my idea and have submitted applications for further programmes and training.

Will you be taking any further business courses to increase your knowledge of how to bring an idea to market or how to run a business?

Yes, I have recently connected with a business mentor and have applied to attend a few training courses.

Marina is one of many students from Cardiff University who have won an innovation award supported by Engineers in Business.  You can see information on the other 2022 winners here.