Five University students and graduates among Scotland’s brightest social innovators
Published On Thu 19 Jun 2014 by Grant Hill
The University of Dundee has provided five of the 33 winners of the Young Innovators Challenge 2014.
The competition is organised by the Scottish Institute for Enterprise, the body which encourages students across Scotland to start their own businesses. The winners have been awarded up to £2,500 in cash to further develop their concepts.
The Young Innovators Challenge 2014 focused on social innovation to help address issues which affect our communities and entries were welcomed in three categories – health and wellbeing, green and sustainable energy, smarter communities and infrastructure. The competition was open to anyone in Scotland over the age of 18 and studying at college, university or an apprenticeship programme.
The Dundee winners were Product Design graduate Eilidh Price, medical student Christopher McCann and a team comprising Moyra Gill, Keerthana Jayagopal and Jenni Inglis from the Master of Design for Services programme.
This year’s competition attracted more than 300 entries, half of which were shortlisted and put before the expert judging panel of Tony Banks, chairman of Balhousie Care Group, Josh Littlejohn, organiser of the Scottish Business Awards and creator of the Social Bite, and Susan Aktemel, Director of Homes for Good (Scotland).
The 151 shortlisted entrants were then asked to compile short videos for the judging panel to explain their ideas in greater detail.
Tony Banks, speaking for the judges, said, “The standard of entries was inspirationally strong. As a group of judges we felt it truly uplifting to see Scotland’s young people not only identify real social issues, but to also bring potential solutions to those problems.”
The 33 winning teams and individuals will now attend an exclusive residential Bootcamp and workshops to develop their ideas further.
Eilidh, who graduated today with a degree in Product Design from Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art and Design (DJCAD), created ‘Glow’, a warning system for children with diabetes that protects them from nocturnal ‘hypos’ by continually monitoring their blood sugar level as they sleep.
Christopher, a 2nd year medical student at the University of Dundee, won the prize to help develop an early warning device that could be worn by hospital patients. Designed as a wristband, the technology will continuously and wirelessly monitor patient vital signs, pre-emptively notifying healthcare staff of any deteriorations in health.
Moyra, Keerthana and Jenni were recognised for ‘Wellderly’– a way of bringing older people’s knowledge to bear on health and social care issues through ‘social studios’. It is hoped the service could have a real impact on tackling health and social care needs around an ageing population.
Scottish Institute for Enterprise Chief Executive Fiona Godsman said, “The level of enthusiasm, energy and innovation displayed by all entrants to this year’s competition has been outstanding. The ideas have ranged from those which affect small communities to those which could benefit the whole of Scotland and even beyond. Each entry deserved to be recognised and we would encourage those who haven’t been successful at this stage to seek out help and persevere to move their ideas forward.”
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