YOUNG,WELSH & LEADING GENIUSES : THE NEXT GENERATION OF GREAT WELSH INVENTORS GIVEN OVER A MILLION POUNDS & ADDRESSING SOCIETAL ISSUES

NEXT GENERATION OF INVENTORS GIVEN OVER A MILLION POUNDS      

·         New ideas to receive funding and support include a remote monitor for people who have diabetes, an app to support stroke rehabilitation and onion skins as an alternative to plastic

• Innovate UK is supporting 94 high potential Young Innovators
• Each winner benefits from a £5,000 grant, one-on-one business coaching and an allowance to cover living costs

From an environmental activist producing beach toys from ocean waste to a young Scot who’s invented body-powered bionic hand, the winners of this year’s Young Innovators’ Awards, announced today by Innovate UK, the UK’s innovation agency, will receive £1.25 million* in grants as they set to tackle some of our biggest societal challenges.

Young people are showing a growing appetite for innovation and entrepreneurialism. The Young Innovators competition received almost 700 applicants this year, up 25% on the previous year. The exceptional standard of ideas led Innovate UK to award over 50% more winners this year (94 vs 63), making this the largest cohort of Young Innovators to-date.

The Young Innovators Awards recognise a diverse cohort of entrepreneurs from every nation and region of the UK. Each inspiring young person will benefit from a £5,000 grant, one-on-one business coaching and an allowance to cover living costs.

The race to net zero is inspiring many of this year’s entrepreneurs – from onion skin as a cheap alternative to plastic to a new app for shoppers to store digital receipts – while healthy living also looms large – with snackable vitamins and high fibre fizzy drinks. Other winners were inspired by personal or family health challenges and now hope to improve outcomes for others – from a smart medication dispenser that promotes patient independence to an app that provides new amputees with support, services, and a community.

Amongst the innovators looking to make the world a better place are:

·         Jamila La Malfa-Donaldson (30 years old), an Industrial Hemp PhD researcher from Aberystwyth (Wales), and founder of PROHEMPOTIC LTD who aims to create healthier and more sustainable diets through hemp food products. Her products use local hemp food ingredients, and are designed for people looking to reduce their meat and dairy consumption.

·         Anahita Laverack (22 years old), a keen sailor from Victoria Dock, Caernarfon (Wales), who has created Oshen, a fully autonomous, robotic vessel to capture live data from our oceans to help improve everything from fishing to weather forecasting and climate change research

·         Fergal Mackie (25 years old), who has developed Metacarpal – a body-powered bionic hand to give those with upper-limb amputations a better experience, using no electronics.

·         Paul McCreery (30 years old), who has created a range of healthy carbonated drinks – FUNKI drinks will contain 50% of your daily fibre intake.

·         Renuka Ramanujam (28 years old), is developing HUID, a sustainable alternative to single-use plastic, which is derived from onion skin. Renuka is currently working in collaboration with universities to improve and test this innovative material.

·         Sagar Jadeja (28 years old), is producing a remote monitor for people who have diabetes, specifically for the 60,000 people in England who suffer with diabetic foot ulcers each year, a side effect that is currently not well managed.

·         Lily Elsner (29 years old), who has created Jack Fertility, a mail-in sperm test kit, offering lab-grade semen analysis results without needing to set foot in a clinic. With the UK now facing a looming fertility crisis, Jack Fertility aims to empower people to take control of their fertility journeys.

·          Zhey Grudov (29 years old), who has created Feathertail, a customisable and wearable computer mouse for people with limited limb mobility. The product can be worn on your wrist, shoe or as a headset – opening.

·         Alasdair Aegerter (28 years old), an aerospace engineer who has created a hybrid aircraft, the ‘plane-o-copter’, that can land anywhere. It can be used to transport goods more efficiently and to combat illegal logging, poaching and human trafficking.

·         Abiel Ma (24 years old), a climate enthusiast, who has created Vuala to make food waste recycling easy by automatically liquefying and separating food waste from other waste, turning it into raw material for biogas and animal feed.

·         Anna Wilson (29 years old), from North Cambridge who is creating Tortoise, an activity tracking app for users with injuries to bones, joints or muscles. The goal for Anna, who is also in the England squad for touch rugby, is to support and motivate people as they rehabilitate at home.

·         Ethan Wilkin (23 years old), who is developing a foldable electric motorbike aimed at urban commuters without secure off-street parking. Ethan’s prototype, the Hornet, can fold down to the size of a large suitcase.  

The Young Innovators Awards recognise young people with great business ideas who have the potential to become successful entrepreneurs and future leaders in innovation. In addition to the awards, Innovate UK delivers workshops and briefing events to provide practical business advice to a network of over 12,500 young people across the UK.

With a clear drive to support underrepresented innovation talent, this year, 46% of the winners are female, 39% are Black, Asian or from another ethnic minority group, and 11% have identified as disabled. There are also multiple award winners across the nations and regions, including: Jamil Quarless (23 years old), from Northern Ireland, who is developing biodegradable netted bags for fruit and veg; and Anahita Laverack (22 years old), a keen sailor from Wales, who has created Oshen, a fully autonomous, robotic vessel to capture live data from our oceans to help improve everything from fishing to weather forecasting and climate change research; and Samuel Graham (29 years old), from Bristol, who has created Revolv, a bike wheel mounted device that harnesses wheel motion to fast-charge smartphones and other devices as you ride.

Commenting on her award and project Tortoise Limited, Anna Wilson, said, “I am very excited to be chosen as a winner of Innovate UK’s Young Innovators Award. Through this support and mentorship I hope to turn my idea into a reality. My innovation, Tortoise, is an app that empowers people to stay mentally and physically fit whilst recovering after injury. Innovate UK is guiding me on the journey to bring the app to market and help the 1.7 billion people worldwide with musculoskeletal injuries. I’m excited to make the most of the expert business mentorship and funding, and see where I can drive the business over the next 12 months.”

Inspired by his passion for health and wellness, Paul McCreery, said, “I’m delighted to be a winner of the Young Innovators Awards, having the support from Innovate UK has really propelled me on my mission to get FUNKI to become the go-to soft drink for consumers who want to improve their digestive health and look after their gut. I would love to hire, grow and manage a team of FUNKI gut health enthusiasts who are all onboard the mission of solving the ‘fibre gap’ in the UK. I know the mentorship and funding I get through the Innovate UK programme will help me on my journey to achieve this.”

Emily Nott, Head of Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Programmes at Innovate UK said: “The level of creativity, passion, and commitment to positive change within our society and environment in this year’s Young Innovators Award winners is beyond inspiring. Knowing that Innovate UK is creating opportunities and providing support to enable these young people from a wide range of different backgrounds across all parts of the UK to grow and develop their businesses makes me very proud. With the financial uncertainty this year brings, it’s fantastic to see these entrepreneurs starting businesses that will improve the world and boost innovation in the UK. We can’t wait to see what they will achieve next.”

Indro Mukerjee, CEO Innovate UK said: “The Innovate UK Young Innovators program is an important part of our many activities to strongly develop the talent pipeline needed to further drive our innovation nation. I warmly congratulate all the Young Innovators Award winners and look forward to keeping in touch as they progress”.

Details on all 94 Young Innovators can found here.This year, Innovate UK will be expanding the scope, scale and impact of support available to young innovators. If you’re an inspiring young innovator, check out how Innovate UK could support you here: https://ktn-uk.org/programme/young-innovators/