December

Students win big at Queen’s Students’ Union’s What’s the big Idea? Competition

Eight Queen’s University students have walked away with 11 business awards and a combined prize pot of £2,800.

The ‘What’s the Big Idea?’ competition, run by Queen’s Students’ Union, is open to all students at Queen’s who have exciting and novel business ideas.

Now in its eighth year, the competition is bigger and better with more awards and prize money than ever before.

This year’s competition saw 90 applicants whittled down to a shortlist of 29 and the winners chosen by a panel of judges from Queen’s Students’ Union, Queen’s Graduate School, Ormeau Business Park and PWC.

Queen’s students are becoming increasingly entrepreneurial and the winners will look forward to the exposure that this competition will bring with the hope of attracting further interest to help make their idea a reality.

The ‘Best Overall Business Idea’ Award, sponsored by Ormeau Business Park, along with £500 was awarded to Eve McLelland from Co Armagh for her innovative business idea ‘Em-Bed’. Her invention folds out to provide an emergency makeshift bed with storage for essential items such as food and health supplies, an ideal product for victims of natural disasters.

The ‘Most Innovative Idea’ Award, also sponsored by Ormeau Business Park, along with £500 was presented to Maeve O’Hagan from Belfast for her innovative product ‘Swimsecure’, a waterproof pocket. It allows the user to take part in water sports whilst keeping their essential items such as car keys and phone safe on their person.

Kat Maguire, Enterprise & Development Officer at Queen’s Students’ Union said, “The ‘What’s the Big Idea?’ competition really gets students thinking and researching into their potential business ideas and also about the option of starting a business as an alternative to finding a job. We’re extremely impressed by this year’s level of creativity and innovation.”

Patricia McNeill, CEO of sponsor Ormeau Business Park said, “Ormeau are delighted to sponsor this competition for the seventh consecutive year…  It is inspiring to see the competition go from strength to strength, again reinforcing the need for enterprise to be at the core of education in the UK today. This year’s winners demonstrate the breadth and variety of entrepreneurial thinking nurtured at Queen’s University and we look forward to watching the entrepreneurial journey of these creative ideas as they develop and become market ready.”

Stephanie Gowdy, Student Recruitment Manager at sponsor PWC said, “This is a fantastic initiative that allows students from any degree background to explore their inner inventor and come up with new business ideas.”

Joanne Graham, Postgraduate Community & Enterprise Officer at Queen's Graduate School and sponsor of the Best Postgraduate Idea Award said, “I’ve witnessed a range of successful student business ideas being realised and it all began with entering an idea into a competition like this!”