SMF is sponsoring Nottingham University Business School’s Engineers in Business Award. Developed collaboratively by NUBS and SMF, last year’s successful pilot produced six unique product concepts from undergraduate teams comprising engineering and business students studying the Entrepreneurship & Business module.

Last year the SenSei Team won first prize for designing and building a sensory glove that emits a gentle alert indicating the proximity of objects. When worn, the SenSei prototype glove showed how blind and partially sighted people could navigate safely and efficiently through everyday life.
The pilot was open only to business school students, but its success has resulted in the competition being expanded to include Nottingham University’s Faculty of Engineering, giving many more engineers the chance to participate.

Chris Mahon, Deputy Director of MBA Programmes at Nottingham University Business School and convenor of the Entrepreneurship & Business module said: “The bar has been set high for this year’s entrants in the Engineers in Business Award. The competition challenges students to use their creativity and lateral thinking by first identifying a problem and then developing a product concept that solves the problem. The aim is to create a solution that would make a big difference to people’s lives.”

The team with the most original and exciting idea with practical application, will win the NUBS/SMF Engineers in Business Award, £1,500 and career mentoring from SMF, the network of high-flying engineers awarded a Sainsbury Management Fellows MBA Scholarship who use their engineering and business skills to lead in blue-chip companies or their own entrepreneurial enterprises.
The runner-up team will receive £1,000 and the team placed third will receive £500.

SMF President, David Falzani commented: “The students have really grasped the essence of the competition; it’s about practical solutions to real problems, not just theoretical business planning. It’s about combining entrepreneurial and engineering skills with nous to create solutions and products that could change lives. The NUBS/SMF Engineers in Business Award highlights the work of talented young people while emphasising the relevance of engineering for a better world.”