The UCL Santander Summer Showcase: celebrating UCL's most promising startups

The entrepreneurial event on the 20 July, supported by Santander Universities UK, recognised some of the university’s most impactful startups. Businesses were awarded the funding from Santander to help further develop their offerings and ideas.

All the businesses who took part have been supported in the UCL Hatchery, the university’s dedicated startup incubator programme, managed by UCL Innovation & Enterprise.

The winning businesses were selected to receive the funding in recognition of their entrepreneurial achievements and contribution to the UCL entrepreneurial ecosystem at BaseKX over the past year. Eight other businesses also received commendations.

The winners

Most promising female-led startup award

Period Harmony is a women’s health and wellness startup co-founded by siblings Dr Kavitej Samra (UCL Medicine) and Raminder Samra. The company produces natural alternatives to painkillers to help women manage menstrual pain, such as holistic patches.

Most promising social enterprise award

Public Arts Health & Us (PAHUS), founded by Dr Kartik Sharma (UCL Health Humanities), is a community interest company that creates films in the UK and India to raise awareness of important and neglected health and social issues, such as early years education and environmental health, through arts and films.

Most impactful on the Sustainable Development Goals award

BoxxDocks, co-founded by James Della Valle (UCL Architecture) and Alessandro Attanzio, helps transport and logistics companies to lower their environmental impact by developing sustainable and ethically sourced delivery boxes as an alternative to single-use, virgin plastic products.

Most impactful enterprise for Equality Diversity and Inclusion award

GatherAid is a ‘tech for good’ startup founded by current UCL student Sricharan (Sree) Sanakkayala (UCL Computer Science). The company provides a digital social community for charities and individuals to collaborate, including donor profiling that matches givers to organisations.

Hatchery Startup of the Year award

YourCue, co-founded by Nikhit Anilbhai (UCL Nanotechnology and Regenerative Medicine) and Sonakshi Senthil (UCL Personalised Medicine and Novel Therapies), has produced a medical device worn on the finger to enable automated remote and in-hospital patient monitoring. The device also features notifications and alarms to alert healthcare professionals when help is needed.

Nikhit Anilbhai and Sonakshi Senthil said: “We're delighted to have won this award. The funding will go a long way towards helping us develop our product and support our growth activities over the coming months. The support we’ve received from UCL Innovation & Enterprise has also been instrumental in guiding us on our journey, with immense training and contacts, as well as dedicated office-space."

Professor Geraint Rees, UCL Vice-Provost (Research, Innovation & Global Engagement), who opened the evening, said: “Events such as this one underline the strong entrepreneurial spirit running through UCL, and shine a light on just what’s possible when students and alumni with bright ideas are supported to grow.

“I would like to thank Santander Universities for their continued support and congratulate all the winners and runners-up from today’s event who’ve impressed us enormously with their enthusiasm and creativity. We look forward to seeing where all of these inspiring businesses go from here and the impact they have on society.”

Hatchery commendations

Known Source, a multi-vendor marketplace designed for the discovery, buying and selling of slow fashion.

Comma Periods, a femtech start-up that focuses on finding personalised solutions to period symptoms.

Your Juno, a financial education platform giving women the knowledge and confidence to make smart money decisions.

International Real Estate Investment Solutions, a real estate brokerage service to Chinese investors.  

MedQ, a digital platform that helps healthcare professionals complete assessments online and manage patients remotely.

Yiyu Bespoke Cultural Experiences, offering bespoke, specialised cultural and informative experiences for Chinese visitors in London.

ZNotes, an education technology and social-impact startup delivering quality education for school students, regardless of their background, through free revision notes and other online content.

BoxxDocks, a company that’s helping transport companies cut costs and their environmental impact with sustainable logistics boxes.

Remy Foucher, Santander Universities Relationship Manager, said: “We’ve been hugely impressed with the quality and drive of all the businesses who’ve taken part this year, particularly as they’ve all had to weather the extra challenging conditions of the last few years.

“Santander has worked with UCL to support entrepreneurship for a number of years. We’re delighted that our funding is supporting such promising ventures and helping them to take their impact to the next level.”

UCL’s support for entrepreneurs

In total, over 330 new graduate businesses were started at UCL between 2014 and 2021. Collectively they have raised over £226 million in investment and currently employ more than 1,900 people.

The university’s most promising startups have access to the Hatchery incubator programme, which provides free support and dedicated office space. Businesses benefit from masterclasses, clinics and competitions, to fast-track their success and prepare them for investment.

Other entrepreneurial support for students and recent graduates includes events, workshops and a dedicated doctoral student and early career researchers entrepreneurship programme, SPERO.  

Links

• UCL Hatchery start up incubator programme
• Entrepreneurship support for UCL students and recent graduates
• UCL and Santander Universities UK renew long-standing partnership
• UCL startup ZNotes helping millions of students achieve their potential
• UCL startup Your Juno receives £1.6m to help close financial gender gap
• UCL Innovation & Enterprise

Image

• UCL Santander Summer Showcase winners and shortlisted companies. L-r by company: BoxxDocks, MedQ, International Real Estate Investment Solutions, Known Source, Enviroble, Phas3, ElectroVentures, GatherAid, Period Harmony, Yiyu Bespoke Cultural Experiences, PAHUS, YourCue.  Credit: Kirsten Holst

Media contact

Kate Corry

Tel: +44 (0)20 3108 6995

Email: k.corry [at] ucl.ac.uk