Could you be Mayor Sadiq Khan's Entrepreneur 2017?

Have you ever walked around the city thinking of ways that London could be less wasteful? Want to make London greener and more sustainable? Are you brimming with ideas of how to do this? The Mayor's Office wants to hear form you! As a student or recent graduate, you're invited to submit an idea for how to improve the capital and compete for a chance to be crowned Mayor's Entrepreneur 2017 - as well as the chance to receive £20,000 to bring your idea to life! Sponsored by

citigroup.com/citi/about/citizenship/" target="_self">Citi, this student competition is a great way to improve your employability and create something special.

Why enter?

Whether you enter as an individual or as a group, the benefits include:

• Improving your skills and future employability
• Free mentoring and workshops from business experts • An opportunity to pitch your ideas 'Dragon's Den' style at City Hall • A chance to win £20,000 to make your idea happen

Last year's winners were Elena Dieckman and Ryan Robinson from Imperial College London. Their idea, Aeropowder, is a composite made from feather waste. It uses the unique properties of feathers to create insulating materials for housing. 

In 2015, Solveiga Pakstaite created Bump Mark, a new expiry label that goes bad exactly when the food inside the package does. By running a finger across the label, you immediately know if the food has expired - if smooth, you are good to go, but if it is bumpy then be cautious. This new labelling aims to reduce food waste by telling us more about the state of our packaged food. 

And in 2014, Kirsty Kenney and Harold Craston from LSE won £5,000 for their idea to repurpose disused red telephone boxes into free-to-use, solar-powered mobile phone charging stations.

Feeling inspired? For email updates and alerts, register your interest or submit your idea by midnight on 12 February 2017. You can also come and attend upcoming workshops to hear more from previous winners and about the competition.

Additionally, access the tools to help you come up with smart business ideas, find out how to apply to the competition and what the judges are looking for, and get feedback on your business idea from competition staff. Workshops are free to attend but you do need to register. Places are filling up quickly for upcoming dates on the 28 November 2016 and 27 January 2017.

Claire Tunnacliffe
UCL Bartlett School of Architecture