SOME of the University of Dundee’s best business brains have been honoured after they were announced as the winners of an enterprise skills competition.
Students Mostafa Khalil, Ailsa Hershaw, Abigail Johnston and Caitlin Kavanagh all scooped the £1500 New Ideas Award for their project, AvaCare.
AvaCare is an avatar-based app desgined to deliver psychiatry and psychology appointments.
While students Esther Barakengera, Anyamanee Rattanaphongchirakun, and Vera Bergshoeff, also won for their scheme, The Green Box, which provides students with environmentally-friendly essential items.
The “Green Box” contains second-hand products donated by local people, as well as brand new items, deemed as essential in getting students settled into their halls of residence.
The idea impressed the judging panel enough to secure the team the Enterprising Team Award, for which they will each receive an Insights.com Discovery Profile, worth £300.
Organised by the University’s Centre for Entrepreneurship, the bi-annual Enterprise Challenge is open to University students and staff who are keen to develop their ideas for a new business.
Participants had seven weeks to develop their proposals through a series of workshops, where they received advice from leading business figures. A panel of experts then scored the concepts on their viability to determine the winners, which were announced at an online ceremony.
Brian McNicoll, Head of the Centre for Entrepreneurship, said, “Once again our Enterprise Challenge has highlighted the wealth of innovative talent among the staff and students here.
“We never fail to be overwhelmed by the creativity of our entrants and their dedication to learning new skills.
“The judging panel were hugely complimentary to all of those who reached this year’s final and I congratulate both of our winners and look forward to seeing how they utilise the enterprising skills they have learned in their future careers.”
