Innovative student start-ups win Engineers in Business Awards

Two teams of start-ups supported by Nottingham University Business School have won prestigious prizes at the Engineers in Business Competition Grand Final on November 3 at the Royal Academy of Engineering. 

Pipeline Organics from the University of Nottingham did exceptionally well, winning two awards for its innovative system that generates renewable electricity from wastewater. The team won the Start-Up category and were overall winners in the Enterprise category, totalling £8,000 in prizes.

York St John University’s team Global Anthem, who were also supported through Nottingham programmes, won the Start-up Runner Up award.

Arielle Torres from Pipeline Organics said:

“The support that comes with these awards is exactly what we need right now. We’re at a critical point in our business and this means we’re one step closer to our goals.”

Now in its fifth year, the competition – organised by Engineers in Business Fellowship (EIBF) – sees university students showcase their problem-solving innovations to industry experts in a bid to win cash prizes. The Engineers in Business Competition Grand Final is the culmination of competitions held at 42 UK universities, with thousands of students and graduates participating.

Following a coaching day where students were mentored by five Sainsbury Management Fellows, finalists pitched their ideas in a dragons’ den style event in a bid to win a share of the £16,000 prize pot to help them propel their business idea to the next level.

As well as cash prizes, winners also received mentoring from business leaders who are members of the Sainsbury Management Fellows network, plus CV packages from PurpleCV and entrepreneurial books from Cambridge University Press. They also received a copy of Double your Price, a book by Nottingham University Business School Professor of Practice David Falzani MBE, which covers how pricing works with practical insights, tools and actionable guidance.

Professor Falzani, who is also President of the Engineers in Business Fellowship, said:

“The finalists did a wonderful job of presenting their business ideas – all of which showed leading-edge innovation. We have long since supported engineers to develop business skills through university competitions and we’re now working with more than 42 university partners.”

More information on all the winners can be found on the Engineers in Business website.