Bright SCIdea Challenge 2020 Final

Attendees

Initially scheduled to take place on Tuesday 17 March 2020, the Bright SCIdea Challenge Final has been rescheduled to Thursday 5 November 2020 and will now take place as an online event.

Synopsis

The Bright SCIdea challenge asks students to develop a plausible scientific concept with a societal benefit providing students with free, accredited business planning training with the winners receiving a £5,000 cash prize! Teams are asked to submit a full business plan, detailing how their idea can be taken to market and shortlisted teams will be invited to pitch their idea to a panel of experts at the final to win a significant cash prize.

Bright SCIdea Homepage

Programme

• Welcome and Introduction to the Challenge
• Pitches
• Paul Colbon, CEO, Liverpool Chirochem: From Bench-top to Board Room; my Personal Reflections of Starting and Building a Tech Company
• Q&A
• Final results

Due to the nature of the event, we advise that you allocate 2 hours to ensure you will be able to see which team is declared as the winner at the end of the session.

Read the full programme

Download the programme (PDF)

Booking Process/Deadlines

Booking terms and conditions

Additional Info

Bright SCIdea challenge finalists are budding entrepreneurs keen to set up businesses in science and technology. Previous winners have gone on to launch companies and take their products to market. Durham University’s Plastech Innovation won the 2019 Bright SCIdea challenge with their pitch for a new method of processing waste plastic into aggregates for use in construction materials. The year before, Glucoguard from UCL won with their pitch for genetically modified bacterium for treatment of pre-and type II diabetes.

This year, our teams cover a range of innovative SCIdeas:

• Restoring the fertility of heavy metal ion rich farmland
• Development of a University linked biological testing facility
• Creation of a decision-making tool to make the most from non-cropped land
• A futuristic, ethical and adaptable packaging technology
• A solar panel that operates even at night

The teams will be pitching these Bright SCIdeas to our panel of expert judges which includes the founder of a multinational business, an investor and new business support expert, and the Global technology Director for a multinational organisation.

This competition demonstrates the diversity of early career talent and provides an engaging insight into setting up your own business. More information of our finalists and their Bright SCIdeas can be found here.

Exhibition and Sponsorship

Due to the nature of this year’s final, exhibitors and sponsors will be showcased online as part of the wide reaching virtual event. For further information about sponsorship for Bright SCIdea 2021, please contact Ryan.McKiernan@soci.org.