Students win award for Degree Show project

Published On Wed 19 Jul 2017 by Cara Longmuir

Two recent graduates from the University of Dundee have won a competitive sports entrepreneurship competition that will help them to develop ideas they showcased at this year’s Art, Design & Architecture Degree show.

Andrew O'Riordan and Jack Hinton have received £4000 each for winning the coveted Sports Innovation Challenge, run by Sporting Chance Initiative.

The Product Design graduates will also receive in-kind support from a number of industry partners and a space in the business incubator at The Sport Hive, based at the University of Stirling Innovation Park.

The pair had to pitch their ideas to Adidas, My Protein and sports scientists to win the award.

Andrew has developed a tool to improve the way a golfer reads the green. Through his research he found that putting is an area where golfers have the largest opportunity to improve. His device will be able to quantify the inclination of the green before the golfer putts.

Jack has designed a harness that helps mountain bikers carry their bikes on their backs safely. It allows the user to have both hands free, increasing their safety while dealing with difficult terrain.

Andrew said, “I’m really pleased to have won this competition as it is a chance to develop my product further in Stirling over the year. The Sport Hive helps to take products to the next level with an end goal of commercialisation.”

Jack added, “I'm thrilled to have won a place on the Sporting Innovation Challenge. I am really looking forward to seeing how my year of incubation at The Sport Hive will help to progress and move my product forward."

Ryan Carenduff, Programme Manager at Sporting Chance Initiative said, "We are delighted to have two winners from The University of Dundee this year. We receive so many fantastic and innovative ideas from Dundee students, so to have two progress to the Final and win is a great achievement. I look forward to working with Andrew and Jack in The Sport Hive over the next twelve months." 

Find out more about the Sports Innovation Challenge.

The hugely successful Art, Design & Architecture Degree show, based at the Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art and Design, attracted around 16,000 visitors over the course of its 10-day run in May. The exhibition received glowing reviews from art critics and led to many graduands receiving offers of jobs, residencies and internships as well as winning awards for their work.

For media enquiries contact:
Cara Longmuir
Media Relations Officer
University of Dundee
Nethergate, Dundee, DD1 4HN
Tel: +44 (0)1382 385243
Email: c.z.longmuir@dundee.ac.uk