Bright SCIdea shortlists announced

Register here to attend the Bright SCIdea Challenge final online!

The wait is almost over – next Tuesday, 15 March – the winners of the 2022 Bright SCIdea entrepreneurship challenge will be announced. Six shortlisted teams will compete before a panel of expert judges for the chance to win £5.000 with their winning business plan.

The annual competition is open to teams of 3-4 university students (both undergraduates and post-graduates) with a scientific idea for a product or service that could be commercialised to benefit society. 2020 winners, Team Metallogen will be present to receive the prize in person due to Covid-19 restrictions in 2020.

This year has seen an overwhelming response to SCI’s flagship contest – with more international teams than ever with excellent business plans.

The shortlisted teams for 2022 are:

• CardiaTec, University of Cambridge – an A1 drug discovery company specialising in cardiovascular disease
• Hatton Cross – University of Warwick, QMUL, Imperial College, London – entering ‘a wearable device which cannot change your life but is trying to improve your life quality’
• Happy BioPatch – Oxford University and Manchester University – entering ‘a wearable gadget which continuously monitors cortisol levels aiming to prevent serious consequences as a result of stress’
• Eolic Wall – National University of Engineering, Peru, Universidade Estadual Paulista, Brazil – entering ‘a whole new highly-efficient wind energy system to accelerate energy transition’
• BioTech Inov – University of Coimbra, Portugal – entering a ‘highly efficient and versatile nanotechnological subcutaneous biomedical device with a high lifespan’
• Unmasked – University of Durham – this team is ‘tackling the UK energy crisis by producing insulation materials from disposable face masks’

Tuesday 15 March will also see the winners of the Bright SCIdea Poster Competition announced. These shortlisted teams are:

• GenomAbs – University College Dublin, Copenhagen Business School, Open University of Catalunya and University of Barcelona
• Rest Assured – Cardiff University
• Aruna – Justus Liebig-Universitat Giessen, Leibniz Universitat Hannover, Technische Hochschule Mittelhessen Friedberg, Gadjah Mada University, Indonesia
• SOFTY – Escuela Superior Politecnica del Litoral, Ecuador
• Vo & Airro - Imperial College London & Royal College of Art

The judging panel will consist of: Sarah Skerratt, SVP, Head of Drug Discovery, CHARM Therapeutics, Victor Christou, Partner at YFM Equity Partners, Lucinda Bruce-Gardyne, Founder, Genius Foods and Chair, Scotland Food and Drink and Robin Harrison, VP, Platform Technology and External Innovation, Synthomer.

Learn more about the Bright SCIdea Challenge. For further information, please contact Maxine Boersma on 07772 563373 or on maxine.boersma@soci.org.