Intelliglass win Entrepreneurs' Challenge

Intelliglass were announced the overall winners of the Entrepreneurs' Challenge 2005, a business plan competition for the UCL and London Business School (LBS) communities.

The winners and runners-up were decided on by a panel of entrepreneurs, venture capital and intellectual property experts at the Meet the Spin-Out event on 15 March. 

The annual competition comprises a series of workshops designed to introduce participants to fundamental business concepts that are useful in both academic and commercial careers. Mr Tim Barnes (History 1997), Managing Director of Lodestone Innovation Partners Ltd, came up with the idea. He said: "This year so many people wanted to take part that we were barely able to find room for them! In all, over 500 took part in one way or another."

Intelliglass was formed by Chevening Technology Scholarship Programme students enrolled at LBS and currently working on projects at UCL. They are the first-ever entrants to the competition to have walked away with both the Phase 1 and Phase 2 prizes. Their efforts were rewarded by UCL Provost and President, Professor Malcolm Grant, who presented them with a cheque for £5,000.

The undergraduate category was won by furniture designers The Fruit Design Company, whose innovative concept is a single bed that transforms into either a double bed or bunk beds. The product's usability depends on a patented system of spring-assisted levers that team leader Mr Dan Grant (Human Sciences) developed while still at school.

Ulsaco collected the Provost's Prize - for the entry that most demonstrates the best combination of skills represented by UCL and LBS. Mr Wael Salman (PhD Chemical Engineering), Mr Carlos Amador (PhD Chemical Engineering 4) Mr Kai Yip Lo (BSc Civil Engineering 1998), Mr Matt Fraser (LBS), Mr Wes Rudsenske (LBS), and Mr Axel Mews developed a patented non-spill bottle for use in the oil and chemical industries.

Health & Lifestyles collected the £2,000 Dean's Prize for best idea presented by a team of both current staff or students and alumni. Dr Manos Stamatakis (Epidemiology & Public Health) and Dr Lucy Griffiths (Paediatric Epidemiology) together with Dr Ashley Cooper (PhD Cell Biology 1983) created a service proposition that trains health professionals to better advise their patients on how to achieve higher levels of physical fitness.

Meet the Spin-Out is an annual event that provides entrepreneurs, investors and service providers from outside UCL and LBS with a chance to look inside two of the most highly rated academic and research institutions in the UK. UCL is proving to be a world leader in commercialising success, with over 50 spin-out companies successfully created, nine of which exhibited at this years' event.

Image: Intelliglass with Professor Malcolm Grant, UCL's President and Provost.